Thousands marched on government buildings and clashed with security forces Friday in cities across Iraq. Twelve people were killed in the largest and most violent anti-government demonstrations in the country since political unrest began spreading in the Arab world.
In the capital of Baghdad, demonstrators knocked down blast walls and threw rocks. The protests are fueled by anger over corruption, chronic unemployment and shoddy public services from the Shiite-dominated government.
YEMEN: Forces fire on crowds, wound 19.
Security forces opened fire on thousands of demonstrators Friday in the southern port city of Aden, wounding at least 19 people, in the latest confrontation with crowds pressing for the U.S.-backed president’s ouster. Tens of thousands of protesters marched in different parts of the country. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has promised to step down after national elections in 2013, but the demonstrators want him out now.
EGYPT: Military rulers pressured to speed reforms.
Tens of thousands of people jammed Cairo’s main square Friday, trying to keep up pressure on Egypt’s military rulers to carry out reforms and calling for the dismissal of holdovers from the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Demonstrators said they are worried the army is not moving quickly enough on reforms, including repealing emergency laws and freeing political prisoners.
BAHRAIN: Thousands continue to rally.
Tens of thousands filled the central square of Bahrain’s capital, Manama. Protesters have taken to the streets every day for the past two weeks, asking for sweeping political concessions from the ruling monarch. Security forces made no attempt to halt the marches.
JORDAN: Government warned patience is running out.
About 4,000 protesters rallied in the capital, Amman, the largest crowd yet in two months of unrest. The leader of Jordan’s largest opposition group warned that patience is running out with what he called the government’s slow steps toward reform. King Abdullah II, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, has so far failed to quiet calls for sweeping political change. The protesters want a bigger say in politics and for the prime minister to be chosen through elections, not by the king.
SAUDI ARABIA: Shiites march, disperse peacefully.
About 300 Shiites protested against the Sunni-led government in a march in the east of the country. They dispersed peacefully under the close watch of security forces. The kingdom had been largely quiet, and its ruler this week promised a massive package of economic aid, including interest-free home loans, in hopes of forestalling unrest.
The Associated Press
