Iraqi PM to resign after deadly anti-government protests

[Falcon29]

Iraqi PM to resign after deadly anti-government protests

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has said he will submit his resignation to the country's parliament after a day of intense bloodshed amid mass anti-government demonstrations.

Abdul Mahdi's decision, announced in a statement on Friday, came in response to a call for a change of leadership by Iraq's top shia leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
"I will submit to parliament an official memorandum resigning from the current prime ministry so that the parliament can review its choices," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Al-Sistani said that parliament, which elected the year-old government of Abdul Mahdi, should "reconsider its options".

"We call upon the House of Representatives from which this current government emerged to reconsider its options in that regard," al-Sistani said in his weekly sermon delivered in the holy city of Najaf via a representative.

Abdul Mahdi said he "listened with great concern" to al-Sistani's sermon and made his decision in response to his call and in order to "facilitate and hasten its fulfillment as soon as possible".

The developments came a day after more than 50 people were killed by security forces in one of the bloodiest days of violence since the anti-government protests erupted in early October.
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Iraqi PM to resign after deadly anti-government protests

Adel Abdul Mahdi to submit resignation to Iraq’s parliament after top Shia leader calls for change.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Lieutenant]

He should before its too late.

 

[Berke2]

So, what effects will this have?

 

[Lieutenant]

So, what effects will this have?

Nothing probably just trying to escape being charged with abuse of power.

 

[Berke2]

Nothing probably just trying to escape being charged with abuse of power.

I see.

Bit unrelated but he's got a strange name doesn't he? We have people called Abdul Karim but these guys are called Abdul Mahdi

 

[Scorpion]

I see.

Bit unrelated but he's got a strange name doesn't he? We have people called Abdul Karim but these guys are called Abdul Mahdi

?

 

[Falcon29]

I see.

Bit unrelated but he's got a strange name doesn't he? We have people called Abdul Karim but these guys are called Abdul Mahdi

When I see his name I just refer to him as Abdul-Hadi. I have seen names before like Abdul-Nabi. I would think it is forbidden but don't know the religious judgement on this matter.

 

[space cadet]

Iraqis keep up anti-regime demos despite PM's vow to quit

AFP•November 30, 2019

Iraqi demonstrators clash with security forces in the holy shrine city of Karbala on November 29, 2019 (AFP Photo/Mohammed SAWAF)
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Nasiriyah (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqis kept up their anti-government protests in Baghdad and across the south on Saturday, unsatisfied with the prime minister's planned resignation and insisting "all corrupted people" must step down.
Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi announced on Friday he was planning to submit his resignation to parliament but the following day, protests were still ongoing in his birthplace of Nasiriyah, in Iraq's south.
Demonstrations set tyres ablaze on three bridges spanning the Euphrates River as hundreds more converged in the main protest camp in the flashpoint city's centre, according to an AFP correspondent.
Their renewed rallies came despite a bloody crackdown by security forces that left more than 40 protesters dead over the past two days in the city.
The violence was unleashed after protesters stormed and burned the Iranian consulate in the shrine city of Najaf, accusing Iraq's neighbour of propping up the Baghdad government.
That city, too, saw security forces and armed men in civilian clothes try to snuff out rallies in the aftermath of the consulate torching, leaving more than 20 protesters dead, medics told AFP.
Five of them were shot dead by men in civilian clothes who fired on young protesters approaching a revered religious tomb or political party headquarters.
The city of Najaf was relatively calm on Saturday, according to AFP's correspondent, but protests there usually swell in the afternoon and evening.
Iraq's second holy city Karbala was rocked by overnight clashes between young protesters and security forces trading fire bombs until the early hours of the morning.
And in Diwaniyah, thousands hit the streets early to demand "the downfall of the regime."
"We'll keep up this movement. Abdel Mahdi's resignation is only the first step, and now all corrupt figures must be removed and judged," one protester told AFP.
The grassroots movement is the largest Iraq has seen in decades and also the deadliest, with more than 420 people killed and 15,000 wounded in Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south, according to an AFP tally.
The rising deaths have sparked global criticism, with the United Nations saying the deaths "cannot be tolerated" and the French foreign ministry saying it "strongly condemns the excessive and disproportionate use of force against protesters".
In a written statement on Friday Abdel Mahdi said he would submit a formal letter to parliament "requesting my resignation" in keeping with the wishes of the country's top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
The premier did not say give further details but parliament is due to meet on Sunday.