At least four people were killed and 90 injured among anti-corruption protesters who stormed Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Friday, hospital sources said on Saturday. Iraqi security forces used live and rubber bullets as well as tear gas to dislodge the protesters from the district that houses government buildings, parliament and embassies. The toll, compiled from four hospitals where casualties were taken as well as Baghdad's central morgue, accounts for bullet wounds only, not cases of suffocation caused by tear gas. The disturbance was the second breach of the Green Zone in less than a month. Protesters included supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr and people from other groups upset with the government's failure to approve anti-corruption reforms and improve security against bombings by the Daesh militants. The government briefly imposed a curfew on Baghdad on Friday and authorities later said that order had returned after what they called rioting at the Green Zone. Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, in a late-night speech, condemned the Green Zone breach and warned against chaos and strife: "The law must take its course with every transgressor." Sadr expressed support for what he called a "peaceful spontaneous revolt" and condemned the government for "killing its children in cold blood." Supporters of Sadr faced tough resistance from forces guarding Abadi's office but some were able to muscle past and temporarily enter the premises, though demonstrators were later pushed back by tear gas, water cannons, sound bombs and a barrage of live fire directed into the air. Abadi reacted by saying that "storming state institutions... cannot be accepted," but added that he supports the "demands of the peaceful protesters." Sadr followers have been protesting for weeks demanding reforms and a new government, and had warned they would again break into the Green Zone if progress was not made. The cleric vowed Friday that "peaceful protests" would continue, warning that "the revolution will take another form" if there are attempts to block them. Demonstrators were enraged by security measures to keep them out of the Green Zone, which were much tougher than they faced when they broke into the restricted area three weeks earlier. "We came in a peaceful protest but the cowards began shooting at us," said one protester, displaying handfuls of bullet casings, a white cloth shielding his face from tear gas. "This is the biggest evidence of their cowardice and corruption," said another protester who held up a canister fired by security forces, a black cloth tied around his face. Some demonstrators even equated Iraqi politicians with the hated the Daesh group, which frequently kills civilians in bomb attacks. The protesters gathered at Tahrir Square in central Baghdad before crossing Jumhuriyah Bridge over the Tigris River and converging on the Green Zone. Some were able to force one of the area's gates and then headed to the prime minister's office. They confronted security forces guarding the compound, and some protesters eventually forced their way in. Sadr supporters posted pictures of the premier's office on social media, including from the cabinet meeting room, but the protesters later withdrew. It was unclear where Abadi was at the time of the breach. While some demonstrators broke through a Green Zone gate located near Iraq's parliament on Friday, a much larger crowd of protesters, some of whom threw rocks and other debris over the wall, remained outside. Security forces sporadically fired tear gas into the crowd, and also shot sound bombs and live rounds overhead and sprayed demonstrators with water cannons. Security and medical sources said some people were wounded by bullets, but most of the fire was directed into the air, and tear gas accounted for the majority of the injuries. Protesters managed to hold the gate for some time despite repeatedly being tear gassed, but security forces eventually sallied out, firing automatic weapons into the air and unleashing more tear gas. They forced the demonstrators back down a street alongside the Green Zone, harrying them with tear gas canisters that hissed into the crowd. Ambulances became caught in the mass of people packing the street, which was divided by coils of barbed wire running down the median that also impeded movement. Security forces eventually pushed the demonstrators back across Jumhuriyah Bridge. Sadr supporters had encountered relatively little resistance when they pulled down slabs of concrete blast walls to break into the Green Zone last month. But Abadi subsequently sacked the security chief for the Green Zone and beefed up measures around the restricted area. The latest breach of the area — which is also home to several embassies, including that of the United States — could put angry demonstrators on a potentially violent collision course with security forces, and also ups pressure on the premier. Abadi has proposed replacing the current government of party-affiliated ministers with technocrats, a move resisted by parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds. Sadr supporters pulled out of the Green Zone on May 1, a day after storming parliament, warning they would return if no political change took place. But parliament has failed to even reconvene since the incident.
