BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- At least 19 people died in demonstrations in Mosul, Fallujah, Tikrit and elsewhere in Iraq when security forces opened fire on protesters, officials said.
The deaths came as protests spread across Iraq as demonstrators refused to comply with an official curfew to participate in a nationwide "Day of Rage," The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Protesters were calling for more work, better medical care and clean water and expressed their anger over government corruption.
In Basra about 10,000 demonstrators forced the resignation of the provincial governor and in Fallujah they forced the resignation of the entire city council.
Thousands of people were in Baghdad's Liberation Square; some walking miles to get there after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki banned cars and bicycles from city streets.
Among the demonstrators was Selma Mikahil, 48, who waved a 1,000-dinar bill in the air, shouting, "I want to see if Maliki can accept that I live on this. I want to see if his conscience accepts this."
She was referring to her pension, about $120 every five months.
Others waved Iraqi flags and signs reading "No to Corruption!" and "I'm a Peaceful Man."
