Protesters in Iraq’s southern province of Diwaniyah on Thursday made an appeal to the international community and the United Nations to intervene and “save Iraq” following months of violent response to the peaceful protests across the country.
Hundreds of protesters took back to the streets in Diwaniyah, raising placards to make their voice heard by the international community.
“We demand the international community and the United Nations to intervene immediately to save Iraq,” reads one of the placards.
Similar messages were sent by protesters in Baghdad a day earlier.
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) on Thursday issued a press release to urge the Iraqi authorities to step up the efforts in breaking the political deadlock in the country, and ending the ongoing violent response to protests across the country.
“The continuing loss of young lives and the daily bloodshed is intolerable. At least 467 protesters have been killed and over 9,000 injured since 1 October,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said in the release.