Global News

Baghdad, Iraq – On a recent afternoon on the outskirts of Tahrir Square, masked men hailed down and inspected a red tuk-tuk speeding towards the area, in an effort to keep armed civilians from entering the heart of anti-government demonstrations.

Positioned on either side of the road, they patted down civilians on foot as one young man wielded a metal rod.

“Some people brought knives before so we decided to set these up,” said Ali, 18, one of the protesters in charge of running the makeshift checkpoint.

The security spot-check was one among dozens established in and around the square since the start of Iraq’s second wave of protests on October 25. Once a major transit point into the heavily fortified Green Zone, the roundabout has transformed into the hub of the capital’s uprising.

Deadly clashes between protesters and security forces intensified last weekend. More than 300 people have been killed since the first wave of demonstrations began on October 1. But there is no sign of protests abating as anger now focuses on foreign meddling in the country, as well as government failures.

“This is the first time that people have risen up and asked for change,” said Mohammed Rahin, 31. “Regime change has always been through an armed coup or foreign intervention. We want the UN to stop Iran intervening in Iraq.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/protesters-tahrir-square-iraq-191111195848776.html