Protester shootings and political defections turn up heat on Iraqi government
The government of Adil Abd al-Mahdi on Sunday authorized new spending to placate protester demands, but violence in the streets continues.
A protester waves the Iraqi flag during a demonstration Baghdad on Oct. 5, 2019. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)
BAGHDAD - Waves of violent protests across Iraq are eroding the political foundations of Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi’s administration, though most major political blocs have so far refrained from entirely pulling their support.
The only faction to withdraw support for the government was Saeroon, whose 54 seats in Parliament make it the largest bloc. Its leader, the populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, called on Abd al-Mahdi to resign and for UN-supervised elections in a handwritten letter dated Oct. 5.
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