Anti-govt protesters in Iraq blocked roads and bridges in Baghdad

In Iraq, anti-government protesters blocked roads and bridges in capital Baghdad and the country's south yesterday after torching several buildings overnight.

The demonstrators are protesting against the entire political class and have vented their anger against leaders who are negotiating to nominate an establishment insider as the next prime minister. Smoke and flames from burning tyres in Nasiriyah, Basra and Diwaniyah blocked major roads and bridges across the Euphrates all night.

In Nasiriyah, demonstrators set the provincial government building ablaze overnight for a second time since the protests began, and protesters also torched the new headquarters of a pro-Iran militia in Diwaniyah.

Iraq has been



rocked by protests since October 1, prompting Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi to resign last month. Government offices and schools remain closed across almost all of Iraq's south.

Pro-Iranian factions have for several weeks touted outgoing higher education minister Qusay al-Suhail for the post of the prime minister, but his nomination was opposed by President Barham Saleh. The protesters want a technocratic premier who has had no involvement in the political system set up after the US-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Around 460 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded in nearly three months of clashes between protesters and security forces.