Deadly clashes flare again in Iraq, five killed in capital

Clashes between police and protesters killed five people in Baghdad on Saturday in a resumption of anti-government unrest, as security forces deployed in their hundreds to keep demonstrations away from central squares in the Iraqi capital. Police and medical sources reported the casualties after days of violence around anti-government protests that killed at least 81 people in Baghdad and other cities earlier this week.

Iraq's semi-official High Commission for Human Rights put the toll at 94 dead.  Police snipers shot at demonstrators and several people were wounded in eastern Baghdad. The unrest is the deadliest Iraq has seen since the declared defeat of Islamic State in 2017 and has shaken Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's year-old government. The government has responded with vague reform promises that are unlikely to placate Iraqis.