Iran Press/ Middle East: In a statement released on Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi said that all vehicles and individuals are totally forbidden to move in Baghdad from 05:00 a.m. local time (02:00 GMT).
"Travellers to and from the city’s airport, and ambulances, government employees in hospitals and in electricity and water departments, as well as religious pilgrims are exempt from the curfew," the statement added.
It gave provincial governors discretion on whether to announce curfews in their provinces.
Government stresses the right to peaceful protest
Before announcing the curfew in Baghdad, the Iraqi premier held an emergency meeting with members of the National Security Council.
“The council stressed that appropriate measures should be taken to protect citizens and public and private properties,” read a statement released by Abdul-Madhi’s office on Wednesday, expressing the government’s resolve to make all efforts “to meet the legitimate demands of the demonstrators.
”The council further affirmed the demonstrators’ 'right to protest' and freedom of expression..., but at the same time condemns the acts of vandalism that accompanied the protests.
Curfews had already been imposed in the Iraqi cities of Nasiriyah, Amarah, and Hilla.
Violence and foreign hands, behind suspicious ‘October Protests’
Demonstrations called ‘October Protests’, which some unknown social media activists and groups had been inviting the people to take part for days, erupted on Tuesday over what is said to be unemployment and poor public services.
On that day, the protesters attempted to reach Tahrir Square, which police had earlier sealed off along with a nearby bridge leading to the Green Zone, where government offices and foreign embassies are located.
Some of the protesters, who were chanting anti-government slogans, tried to cross the bridge to reach the fortified Green Zone —home to government offices and foreign embassies— police started throwing stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In a joint statement, the Iraqi Interior and Health Ministries said they 'regretted' the violence that accompanied the protests, blaming 'a group of rioters' and calling for calm and restraint. Interior Ministry Spokesman Major General Saad Maan said, “Infiltrators were behind the violent acts in the protests.”
In a tweet, prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also called for an investigation into the clashes. The protests come at a time when Iraq is recovering from three years of war with the Takfiri Daesh terrorist outfit.
None of the famous political parties of Iraq like the Sadrist Movement, the Iraqi Communist Party, and the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance, have joined the suspicious protest, which was called the ‘October Protests’.
Founder and leader of the Special Groups in Iraq Qais al-Khazali earlier said that the ‘October Protests’ are orchestrated from foreign countries and are in line with the US scheme ‘Peace of the Century’.
Al-Khazali added that he has detailed information about the protests and it is aimed at overthrowing the political state in Iraq.
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