Anti-government protesters seized control of a strategic square in central Baghdad.
Anti-government protesters seized control of a strategic square in central Baghdad on Saturday, as they inched closer toward their goal of reaching the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of government, after days of violent clashes with security forces.
At least 320 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the unrest in the capital and the mostly Shiite southern provinces began on Oct. 1. Protesters have taken to the streets in the tens of thousands over what they say is widespread corruption, lack of job opportunities and poor basic services despite the country’s oil wealth.
Protesters took control of a five-story parking garage adjacent to the bridge, giving them a bird’s-eye view over the Green Zone and the street below, mirroring tactics employed in Tahrir Square, where they occupied a 14-story Saddam Hussein-era building that has become a reference point for demonstrators.
But along with Tahrir, the hub of the protest movement, demonstrators now control two central plazas with direct access to the Green Zone.Demonstrators also set up checkpoints on the road leading to Tahrir Square and organized their own civilian security in the area, after a deadly car bombing the previous night. The Associated Press witnessed young men conducting body checks and inspecting bags at entry points to the area.
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