More than 10,000 people rallied in Iraq to demand reforms, better services

BAGHDAD (AP) Friday, August 21, 2015 — Thousands rallied in Iraq’s capital and a string of other cities to press demands for reforms, better services and an end to corruption.
Friday’s rallies were the latest in a series of peaceful gatherings over the past month to demand change. Baghdad’s rally attracted up to 10,000, many waving Iraq’s red, white and black flags and chanting the national anthem.
There were other rallies in the southern city of Basra and the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala south of Baghdad.
In Baghdad, hundreds of army and police cordoned off the rally, sealing off roads leading to the rally in the central Tahrir (Freedom) Square as army helicopters hovered above.
In response to the rallies, Shiite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has won parliamentary support to trim his bloated government and vowed to fight corruption