After a calm of concern and amid disappointments with reform, new protest movements appear.

Demonstrations in Muthanna Governorate

The majority of the demonstrations over the past two weeks were concentrated in the Muthanna governorate, where three demonstrations were launched in different areas of the governorate, and the reasons for the demonstrations varied, including those related to the deterioration of services and others related to the formation of the new government, particularly after Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist current, announced his retirement from political work.

The first demonstration

After the escalations that took place from the Sadrist protesters in Baghdad and the escalation of the pace of demonstrations there, hundreds of members of the

Then the demonstrators headed to the governorate building, denouncing the situation the country was suffering from. One of the demonstrators, Mohammed Hassan al-aajibi, stated that they came out in support of Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr and pledged to him that they would continue to demand reform. Furthermore, this demonstration differs from others as proof of fate after Mr. Muqtada al Sadr    announced    the    suspension    of    his participation in the political process. The demonstrators continued for several 

hours with chants, rallies, chanting Reform slogans, and demanding the elimination of corruption and nepotism. They also cut off most of the streets by the rest of the demonstrators by burning tires on almost all main streets, while the main demonstrators in front of the governorate building wrote a closed people's order on the governorate building. The demonstrators remained in front of the governorate building until nightfall, and the protests resumed the following day.

to the hospital on the day of the incident. However, the working health staff did not take the initiative to provide the necessary medical care and services to the injured child, as he remained bleeding for 10 hours. Instead of paying attention to the injured man, he was transferred to the Medical City in Baghdad on the pretext of the lack of intensive care rooms in the hospital, he was under severe bleeding, and an ambulance lacked all health services.

The shocking thing for the family is that after their son was picked up from Al Hussein hospital, they discovered that al Hussein Teaching Hospital contains intensive care wards with all the necessary supplies. However, the negligence was by the hospital staff, who did not admit the child to intensive care, which caused his death.

Accordingly, the demonstrators held all government agencies responsibly. Starting from the medical staff at the 

demanding the dismissal of the director of the Muthanna health department for his deliberate negligence in following up the hospitals of the province, which fall under his responsibility. On the other hand, the deceased child's father pointed out that the hospital did not take any measures to help the child. As it did not give him oxygen or even bandage him or wipe the blood from his face, pointing out that this is considered apparent and deliberate negligence. The father of the child also pointed out that his family helped the child even inside the hospital.

The demonstration included peacefully blocking the road in front of the Muthanna health department for several hours. They raised banners demanding the dismissal of the Director General of the Muthanna health department and holding the defaulters accountable. While the activist-Ali Al - Abdali-noted that the health index in Muthanna is deteriorating and does not exceed 10%, which is a dangerous indicator, as the deliberate and continuous neglect of the health of Muthanna is evident by various managers and governors that took office. At the same time, the deceased's relatives explained that the hospital contains 12 intensive care wards, including six on the upper floors and ready and six others on the ground floor, but uncleaned. However, it is empty and neglected by the health staff of the hospital.

The rally continued with chants demanding the accountability of the defaulters and the dismissal of the director of the Muthanna health department until 2:00 p.m., when the participants peacefully dispersed, threatening to escalate if their demands were not met. There was no government or explanatory statement from the Muthanna health department or the competent authorities regarding this demonstration. As for security, the security forces adhered to their neutrality and did not impede the demonstration's course but limited their work to organizing the demonstration until it ended on the same day. The media was limited to social networking sites, where no presence of media channels was monitored at the demonstration.

Many citizens in the Muthanna governorate, particularly in the districts, are affected by water shortage in rivers, which has contributed to the decline of health care facilities in the city. One affected area is the AL-Jarib area, located in the 

The lack of water access to them is the presence of concrete barriers obstructing the water flow. Although there were decisions by the governor and higher authorities to remove these barriers, they did not enter into force, and the reason is unknown to them

The mayor of Rumaitha and the police commander of Rumaitha spoke with the protesters, entered their tent, and sat with them to listen to their demands and resolve them. The mayor of Rumaitha indicated that their demands were valid and would be met immediately. Likewise, the police commander of Rumaitha indicated that the existing barriers would be removed as soon as possible. As for security, the security forces provided protection to the demonstrators, dealt professionally with the demands of the protesters, and fulfilled their duty to protect state departments and citizens and maintain their neutrality by fulfilling their duty. After the leader's pledges, the sit-in ended, and no incidents of violence were documented during the sit-in.

Demonstrations in Wasit governorate

Hundreds of protesters gathered in the square of demonstrations in front of the governorate office in Kut's center. The Tishreen demonstrators led this gathering

The rally began with hundreds of demonstrators at the demonstration Square and at the scheduled time of the demonstration, raising Iraqi flags, banners, and photos of some of the martyrs who fell during the violence in Baghdad last month. Then, the demonstrators marched from the governorate square towards Tammuz Square and raised patriotic chants through loudspeakers. No reference to any political party was noticed among the chants to avoid direct clashes with their followers.

The gathering also witnessed no significant restrictions, and the demonstrators witnessed no violence, so the gathering could be described as peaceful.

The reasons for the demonstrations / the demands of the demonstrators

By reviewing the demonstrations and events in several Iraqi provinces, it becomes clear that the most prominent reasons that led to the start of the demonstrations are as follows:

• Refusal to pass the formation of the new government

• Fighting

• Deteriorating service

Notes on the security authorities' handling of gatherings:

After the relative calm experienced by most of the Iraqi provinces, the demonstrations started again with indications of the occurrence of cases of violence. The opponents of the new government's passage have threatened to escalate the situation. In addition to the continued deterioration of services, the demonstrations and sit-ins have re-emerged. However, the demonstrations were not as massive as in the past months. However, the security forces' behavior was somewhat literal, as the security forces adhered to their neutrality in most of the demonstrations that were launched. Moreover, it worked to abide by its basic tasks of organizing and protecting the demonstration. Nevertheless, this matter differed with the demonstrators loyal to the Sadrist movement when the security forces resorted to using water cannons to keep the demonstrators away from government buildings.

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