By Jaafar al-Taie
KUT, Iraq (Reuters) - Three people were killed and dozens wounded in the southern city of Kut on Wednesday as Iraqis demanding better basic services fought with police and torched government buildings, hospital and police sources said.
Around 2,000 people took to the streets in Kut, throwing bricks and stones at Iraqi security forces. Some voiced direct anger at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, echoing anti-government rallies that have shaken other parts of the Arab world.
"Down, down Maliki's government. Down, down with corruption. Down, down thieves," shouted 36-year-old teacher Ali Abdulla, who led a group of protesters and was bleeding from his head after clashing with police.
"We call for change. We will not stay silent anymore."
A police source in Kut said three protesters were killed in clashes and about 30 wounded, including 15 policemen. A hospital source at Kut's al-Abbas hospital said it had received around 28 wounded, including 15 policemen.
"Angry protesters set fire at the reception and first floor of the provincial building and they are preventing firefighters from putting out the fire," Lieutenant Colonel Aziz al-Amarah, head of the rapid response police force in the province of Wasit, told Reuters.
"We have evacuated all government and provincial office employees to protect them and save their lives."
Police fired shots into the air to try and disperse protesters, but were unsuccessful.
Local authorities declared an immediate curfew and ordered the protesters off the streets but many remained.
GROWING FRUSTRATION
Iraqis have long protested against poor services, although recent rallies elsewhere in the Arab region appear to have renewed their desire to voice their frustrations to an elected government that took office less than two months ago.
Wednesday's demonstrations, which started as protests against poor services, soon turned into direct calls for the removal of provincial government officials in Kut.
"We are fed up with bad services. We only hear through the media that Iraq is an oil-rich country, but we live in miserable conditions. No water, no electricity, no food and we are all unemployed," 27-year-old Kut resident Abdulla Salman said.
"Officials are ignoring us and turning a blind eye to our suffering. We are desperate, we want our voice to be heard in any way, even by setting fire to buildings and police cars."
Iraq is still struggling to get back on its feet almost eight years after the U.S.-led invasion. Infrastructure is dilapidated and there is a chronic electricity shortage. Jobs are scarce.
However, unlike other countries in the region, Iraq's former authoritarian regime was removed by the U.S. invasion, and new democratically elected rulers have pledged to reform the war-battered state.
Maliki on Monday welcomed the protests and admitted a shortage in services.
Protests in Iraq have so far been scattered and appear not to have the same momentum as uprisings elsewhere in the region, although Iraqis demonstrating against corruption and joblessness on Tuesday made direct reference to the turmoil that has shaken autocratic leaders elsewhere in the Arab world.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami in Baghdad; Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Jon Hemming)
