Iraqi Forces Use Tear Gas as Protesters Storm Green Zone

[Purveyor]

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and water cannon as protesters stormed Baghdad’s center of government, escalating weekly Friday protests against the slow pace of change under Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.

At least 33 people were injured, the local Sumaria television channel said, and sounds of gunfire reverberated in the capital. Chanting “our Army, the country is wounded don’t side with corruption,” demonstrators forced their way for a second time in about two weeks into the Green Zone, the secure complex in the heart of the capital that’s housed Iraq’s rulers since the U.S. invasion of 2003.

Iraqiya television later reported the zone had been cleared, and some networks said a curfew was imposed.

Protesters, led by supporters of cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, have been demonstrating against corruption and political paralysis for weeks. They have gathered in ever-larger numbers and protests turned violent at the end of April when the Green Zone was overrun for the first time.

The turmoil heaps pressure on Abadi, whose government is also engaged in a war with Islamic State militants and is being battered by a slump in oil revenue.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-20/iraqi-forces-use-tear-gas-as-protesters-storm-abadi-power-center

[Eugene]

1. The Washington Post now says that troops used live fire.

Iraqi security forces use live fire to break up protests in Green Zone

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iraqi-security-forces-use-tear-gas-as-protesters-try-to-storm-the-green-zone/2016/05/20/a56e98b6-1e96-11e6-82c2-a7dcb313287d_story.html