Iraq

Baghdad, Dec 1 (AFP/PTI) Iraq's parliament approved the resignation of the embattled cabinet on Sunday, after two months of violent unrest that have left more than 420 people dead and thousands mourning them in nationwide marches.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said Friday he would submit his resignation to parliament following a spike in the death toll among protesters who accuse the entire ruling elite of being inept, corrupt and beholden to foreign powers.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s parliament on Sunday formally accepted the prime minister’s resignation, but the path to replacing Adil Abdul-Mahdi was clouded with legal questions that one lawmaker described as a “black hole in the constitution,” which does not clearly spell out the next step.

Meanwhile, anti-government demonstrations went on in the capital, and one protester was shot dead. Demonstrators closed roads, including those leading to a major commodities port in southern Iraq. A special judicial committee was formed to investigate demonstrator deaths.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Three anti-government protesters were shot dead and at least 58 others wounded in Baghdad and southern Iraq on Saturday, security and medical officials said, as Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi formally submitted his resignation to parliament.

Lawmakers were expected to either vote or accept outright Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation letter in a parliamentary session Sunday, two members of parliament said.

BAGHDAD (AP) — When discontented Iraqis sought independence from British occupation in 1920, Baghdad’s most prestigious new boulevard, Rasheed Street, was the theatre of their revolt. Nearly 100 years later, the historic colonnade-lined avenue is a flashpoint in Iraq’s grassroots movement waving the banner of revolution against the country’s political system.

30 Nov 2019; MEMO: Hours after Prime Minister Abdel Abdul Mahdi’s decision to step down, Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called the Iraqi people to stay in the streets with a view to exerting pressure on the Iraqi regime, Anadolu reports.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Protesters burned tires and surrounded a police station in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya on Saturday, a Reuters witness said, pressing their demands for sweeping reform despite the prime minister promising to quit.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi announced his resignation on Friday after a call from Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric for the government to step down to end weeks of deadly unrest.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A day after more than 40 protesters were killed by security forces, Iraq’s prime minister announced Friday that he would submit his resignation to parliament, a step that carried uncertainty for the entire government and stirred fears of a possible political crisis.

The move by Adel Abdul-Mahdi came 13 months after he took office and followed calls by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric for lawmakers to withdraw support. At least four protesters were killed in the hours after the announcement in continuing violence in Baghdad and southern Iraq.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric on Friday condemned attacks on protesters and urged lawmakers to reconsider their support for the government, an apparent suggestion that they seek a change of leadership as violence spirals in the war-weary country.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani made his remarks after the bloodiest day in weeks of anti-government unrest where security forces have shot dead hundreds of protesters and clashes have begun to escalate in southern provinces.

BAGHDAD, Nov 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi sacked the military commander he had dispatched earlier in the day to “restore order” to a protest-hit southern city after a crackdown there killed 25 protesters.

Abdel Mahdi, who is also the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces, had ordered military chiefs to deploy across the south on Thursday morning, sending Jamil Shummary to the city of Nasiriyah.

But state television announced the premier had “withdrawn” Shummary from the post by the afternoon.

BAGHDAD (AP) — Anti-government protesters burned down an Iranian consulate building in southern Iraq on Wednesday, while six protesters were killed by security forces who fired live rounds amid ongoing violence in the country, Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

Protesters torched the consulate in the holy city of Najaf in the evening. One protester was killed and at least 35 people were wounded when police fired live ammunition to prevent them from entering the building, a police official said.