Iraqis take to the streets on protest anniversary

STORY: “We want security, we want work, we want our basic rights. We don’t want to fight, or to shed blood,” said Laith, a young anti-government demonstrator from the capital Baghdad.

From Tahrir square, demonstrators walked to the middle of Republic bridge leading to the Green Zone and faced security forces standing atop a concrete roadblock.

Demonstrations broke out in Iraq in October 2019 over jobs and poor services. Tens of thousands took to the streets calling for the overthrow of Iraq's ruling elite.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who took office after the 2019 uprising, released a statement on Friday (September 30), calling “on the demonstrators to abide by the peacefulness guidelines and the security forces' orders regarding the demonstration places.”