Thousands defy curfew and gather in Baghdad to protest against government
Iraq protests
Thousands of Iraqis gathered in Baghdad's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, defying the curfew, in a series of anti-government protests.
Young men clad in Iraqi flags flooded the streets. The protests have been largely successful owing to the mobilisation of people via cars, taxis, motorcycles and even tuk-tuks.
According to Reuters, one protester named Haider demanded to have a "presidential regime" in the country, saying, "when a new president comes to power, he only rules us for four years, and then we can fire him."
Iraq has witnessed more than hundreds of deaths and continuous protests over the last month against the government. On Monday itself, Iraqi security forces opened fire on protesters and killed at least 18 people in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala.
"We, the Iraqi people, want a presidential regime, we don't want a parliamentary regime'', Haider added.
Rampant corruption and inflation have drives Iraqis to the streets, with the youth demanding jobs and economic stability. Even though Iraq has a history of violence and protests, the last two years were relatively quiet.
At least 250 people have been killed since the unrest started on October 1.
(With inputs from Reuters)