Iraqi protesters clash with security forces in capital

Baghdad: Iraqi security forces clashed with anti-government protesters which have rocked Baghdad for a month cost more lives. 

The violence has been centred on two bridges linking Tahrir to the Green Zone on the west bank of the Tigris River where government buildings and foreign embassies are located.

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To keep back protesters who had dug in to their positions behind their own barricade, riot police deployed along the bridges fired tear gas.

One demonstrator was killed there overnight, and another died during the day, dozens more have been wounded in the clashes, medical sources confirmed to AFP.

These protests have evolved since October 1 from rage over corruption and unemployment into a wholesale condemnation of Iraq’s political and religious class. The movement has surged as students, trade unions and NGOs joined in.

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Nearly 200 Iraqis with special needs organised a small march in Baghdad to show support.

“Our rights have been overlooked for years because of corruption, there are four million people with special needs across the country — and the numbers are swelling because of the wars we have been through” said Muadh al-Kaabi, 30, a blind teacher from special needs school.

Iraq has suffered decades of back-to-back conflicts, including war with Iran, deposition of Saddam Hussein by the US-led invasion and years of sectarian infighting.