Protesters in Iraq topple a prime minister but want more

FOR TWO months Iraq has been buffeted by big protests. Tens of thousands of people, angry over corruption, poor governance and a lack of jobs, have taken to the streets in Baghdad and the Shia south. The government has promised reforms. The security forces have fired liberally on the demonstrators. Neither tactic has worked. Things came to a head on November 29th, when the country’s senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for a change of government. In response, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Iraq’s prime minister, said he would step down.His promise to resign comes after days of escalating violence that saw dozens of protesters killed. It began on November 27th in the southern city of Najaf, where protesters set fire to the Iranian consulate and, a day later, are said to have attacked one of the city’s most significant Shia shrines. Police and local militias drove the protesters back with bullets. In Nasiriyah, also in the south, the interior ministry’s quick-reaction forces fired on protesters holding a sit-in, killing at least 25 and wounding 160, according to the government. At least 400 protesters have been killed since the unrest began in early October.