[Ahmed90]

Iraqi here (But I live in Turkey), protests were raging yesterday and today, first social media was taken down now the whole internet from mid (Baghdad) to the rest of the south of the country

Here is a local service monitor for all major ISPs in Iraq: http://akonet.info

This is the usual procedure by the "freedom" government they do this every time, the only issue is this time the protestors are not carrying any flags or any political or religious figures names etc... only the Iraqi flag and burning Iranian flags,

so far it's people(sometimes people and the army) vs government... few people got killed already, there is news the Baghdad airport has fallen into the hands of the protestors, and most of the main roads are blocked and crowded with people

//UPDATE:

All cities are offline except Kurdistan up north

[dastx]

Thank you for this. I am Kurdish, living in the UK. I usually follow both Iraqi and Kurdish news but somehow I was completely oblivious to the current uprising.

I wish the Iraqi people the best I hope you can either get the government to get their ass into gear or otherwise replace them. I have spoken to plenty of family members in Kurdistan and they're all wishing you all the best.

It's a sad state of affairs but I hope it works out for the better.

[GhettoMaestro]

Wow this is a great website. Thank you for sharing.

[anovikov]

So the protests have no religious colouring? Like, it's not Shia vs Sunni vs Kurds vs Commies vs whatever, just a protest against poor government performance?

If so, it's a sign of good progress in Iraqi society and mindset. Such a thing wouldn't be possible just 10 years ago, it was always sort of 'us' vs 'them', these groups being ethnically and/or religiously defined.

[Ahmed90]

"So far" yes

[AnimalMuppet]

> This is the usual procedure by the freedom government

The "freedom" government blocks the internet to censor people? I find that somewhat ironic...

(I presume that's the name of the party in power or something. It sure doesn't seem like it's a description of their behavior.)

[Ahmed90]

I put quotation marks around the "freedom" looks better now? xD

[AnimalMuppet]

Yes, though I wasn't questioning the way you put it.

Why "freedom"? Is it the name of a political party?

[Ahmed90]

Hahaha are you serious? the government and all the political parties involved wew installed and formed by the US as a "freedom" after Saddam.

[dmix]

It’s still a valid question, it could easily be a party as well. I’m sure everyone is aware of the post Saddam situation in Iraq.

[TeMPOraL]

GP is asking for clarification about the word "freedom" - whether it refers to an official name of the ruling party, or is a way people call it, or what.