Unrest continues in Iraq, protests held in Baghdad, Najaf

(20 Jul 2018) Thousands have taken to the streets of Baghdad as well as cities across southern Iraq on Friday, demanding better public services and jobs. In the Iraqi capital, the protesters gathered in central Tahrir Square and tried to remove the barbed wire on the bridge leading to the Green Zone where the government sits. The security forces fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. A number of protesters were beaten and arrested. In Najaf, thousands demonstrated carrying placards and Iraqi flags, urging people to join and called government politicians thieves and robbers. Elsewhere in Basra, where protests first sparked more than a week ago and turned violent, demonstrators gathered peacefully outside the local government building. The security forces cordoned off the building with concrete walls. The government maintains that the protesters' demands are legitimate, but says infiltrators and saboteurs were behind the violence that left at least nine people dead and nearly 60 injured, according to the Health Ministry. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...