At least hundred people have been killed after three days of anti-government protests, which began over unemployment and poor services but have escalated into calls for a change of government and pose one of the worst security challenges in years in the war-weary country. The 2018–19 Iraqi protests over deteriorating economic conditions and state corruption started in July 2018 in Baghdad and other major Iraqi cities, mainly in the central and southern provinces. The latest nationwide protests, erupting in October 2019, have a death toll of at least 93 people, including police. They are the deadliest unrest in Iraq since the end of the civil war against ISIL in September 2017.
On 1 and 2 October, protests erupted in Baghdad and in several provinces over high unemployment, poor basic services, and state corruption. Curfew was imposed in Baghdad and several southern cities, but protests continued on the following days. The authorities had also imposed an internet blackout and shut down 75% of the country's internet access. Extra security troops were deployed at Baghdad International Airport. For some days, the security forces had fired tear gas, water cannon, and live ammunition to disperse the crowds. The death toll had reached 38 on 3 October, including three security personnel. These nationwide protests are among the largest that the country has seen in decades.
The protests are anti-government in nature, although Iraq Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi praised the protesters' demands as "righteous" in a speech broadcast on state television, and he agreed to make greater effort to combat corruption and provide a basic wage for the poor. By 4 October, the death toll had reached at least 46 from the nationwide protests. The security forces fired live rounds to disperse the crowd of demonstrators in Baghdad. For the first five days of protests, the death toll rose as snipers killed a number of protesters and policemen. On 5 October, The New York Times reported that at least 91 protesters were killed; CNN reported that at least 93 people were killed, including police. On 6 October, the Iraqi parliament's human rights commission said that at least 99 people have died and nearly 4,000 have been injured. Government officials claim that 104 people have been killed and 6,107 wounded, with 1,200 security personnel among the injured.
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