15 killed in Baghdad clashes as protests escalate

BAGHDAD - Clashes between Iraqi security forces and anti-government protesters killed at least 15 people in an eastern Baghdad neighborhood, police and medics said on Monday, raising the toll from nearly a week of violence to at least 110 people.

On videos distributed on social media of the late-night rally, protesters ducked in streets littered with burning tires as heavy gunfire was heard.

In a statement distributed to journalists on Monday morning, the Iraqi military said Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi had ordered "all army units to withdraw from Sadr City to be replaced with federal police units".

He called on all forces to abide by the "rules of engagement" in dealing with rallies, it added.

The military also admitted that "excessive force" was used in responding to the protests that began on Sunday night.

"Excessive force outside the rules of engagement was used and we have begun to hold accountable those commanding officers who carried out these wrong acts," the military said.

In Abdel Mahdi's only address to the protesters last week, he had insisted security forces were acting "within international standards" in dealing with demonstrations.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Abdel Mahdi in a phone call that he trusted the Iraqi forces and supported the Iraqi government in restoring security, without elaborating, a statement from the premier's office said.

Abdel Mahdi said life had returned to normal, according to the statement.

Protests broke out in Baghdad on Oct 1 as public anger swelled over lack of jobs, poor services and endemic corruption among Iraq's leaders and politicians.

Police used live ammunition from the first day and clashes have now killed at least 110 people, according to a Reuters toll based on reports from police and medics. The interior ministry gave a casualty toll of 104 killed and more than 6,000 wounded. It said eight of the dead were members of security forces.

It is the bloodiest unrest and biggest challenge to Iraq's security since the declared defeat of the Islamic State group in 2017.

The government has agreed to increase subsidized housing for the poor, stipends for the unemployed and training programs and loan initiatives for youth.

Iraqi authorities also said they would hold to account members of the security forces who "acted wrongly" in a harsh crackdown on dissent, state TV reported on Monday. The interior ministry denies government forces have shot directly at protesters.