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Anti-govt Protests Continue in Iraq, Chile, Lebanon

BAGHDAD: The anti-government protests across the globe show no signs of abating, with fresh rounds of unrest in Iraq, Chile and Lebanon.

IRAQ

At least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured in renewed protests against Iraq’s government, the country’s Human Rights Commission said.

Iraq was rocked by protests during the first week of October, with thousands taking to the streets of Baghdad and the country’s south to demand jobs, services and an end to corruption.

The protests quickly turned bloody, with an official toll citing 157 people killed, mainly protesters in the capital.

The government held an inquiry into the violence, producing a report on Tuesday that condemned “excessive use” of force by security personnel but also cited unknown “shooters” that authorities have neither identified nor arrested.

Protests flared again on October 25 and 26, leaving at least 63 protesters dead.

CHILE

Just weeks before the worst civil unrest since Chile returned to democracy 29 years ago, President Sebastian Pinera described the country as “a true oasis”.

His country is planning hosting of world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, for the annual Apec summit on November 16-17.

However, deadly upheaval in October shows the chasm between the Andean exemplar’s elite and those who feel abandoned.

Eighteen people have died and thousands have been arrested in a wave of riots and demonstrations that’s brought cities to a near standstill and seen security forces fire on masked looters.

What began as a protest against a 4 US cent subway fare hike quickly became an outpouring of broad discontent over economic inequality, pensions, health and education.

While Pinera back-pedalled on the fare increase, his efforts to crack down on violence merely intensified it.

LEBANON

Lebanon’s biggest demonstrations in 15 years have unified an often-divided public in their revolt against status-quo leaders who have ruled for three decades and brought the economy to the brink of disaster.

The protests were sparked October 17 by a proposal to introduce fees for users of messaging apps such as WhatsApp, with the aim of shoring up the state’s coffers.

The demonstrators accuse the country’s political class of mismanagement and wasting public funds, with rallies spreading to all major cities and into Lebanon’s vast diaspora. They have called on the government to resign.

The government has tried to quell public anger with wide-ranging economic reforms but the move has so far failed to win over protesters, who now seem bent on removing the entire political elite, which they see as corrupt.