Student strikes, street closures in Iraq protests

Baghdad, Nov 3 (AFP/APP): Protesters in Iraq’s capital and its south shut down streets, schools and government offices Sunday, AFP’s correspondents said, escalating the month-long movement demanding change to the country’s political system.

In Baghdad, university-age demonstrators parked cars in the middle of main thoroughfares, blocking traffic on the first day of the work week in the Muslim-majority country.

Police officers manning nearby checkpoints looked on but did not intervene.

Other students took part in sit-ins at their schools, and the country’s national teachers union extended the strike they began last week.

The engineering, doctors and lawyers syndicates have all backed the protests.

Iraq protests enter second month, defying pledges of reform

In Kut to the east, protesters sealed off main roads and bridges and most schools and government agencies were shut.

“We decided to cut the roads as a message to the government that we will keep protesting until the corrupt people and thieves are kicked out and the regime falls,” said Tahseen Nasser, a 25-year-old protester.

“We’re not allowing government workers to reach their offices, just those in humanitarian fields,” including hospitals and police officers, he said.