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Iraqi government seems powerless against protesters even as 'unknown' snipers take toll

For the seventh day in a row, protesters challenge the Iraqi government across Baghdad and the south; the death toll rises to nearly 120 as unidentified snipers pick off demonstrators.
Iraqi security forces stand guard as demonstrators take part in a protest over unemployment, corruption and poor public services, in Baghdad, Iraq October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RC1CC9BEC6E0

A video of a fearless teenager performing a dance from the popular multiplayer online game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds amid heavy bullets and smoke in eastern Baghdad seems to summarize what is happening with the Iraqi protests.

Thousands of young people, mostly teenagers, kept up demonstrations for the seventh day in a row. Nothing — not government promises, military threats, religious advice nor anything else — has been able to convince them to return home yet.

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