surge update: Demonstrations Turn Violent in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Demonstrations turned violent across Iraq on Friday, as protesters burned buildings and security forces fired on the crowds.

Thousands of Iraqis demanding better government services took to the streets in at least 10 cities, from Basra in the south to Mosul in the north, despite attempts by the government and by top Shiite leaders to head off the protests .

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki made a televised speech on Thursday urging Iraqis not to gather, warning that insurgents would use the opportunity to carry out attacks. Security officials in Baghdad banned all cars from the streets until further notice.

The constellation of rallies, modeled after the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, brought together a chorus of anger and frustration over government corruption, instability and shoddy public services. Unlike protesters elsewhere in the region, though, the crowds in Iraq did not call for an entirely new form of government.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/world/middleeast/26iraq.html?hp=&pagewanted=print