Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s procession has been attacked by students of Waset University on Tuesday, forcing him to leave the university from the back door. According to local sources, the students rallied before the procession of the Iraqi official to present their demands, including the student financial grant and reducing the fees of the night studies.
The sources added that the guards of the Iraqi prime minister used the teargas to disperse the students, revealing that they injured 19 students. The incident coincided with demonstrations organized by a large number of students and professors of the university to protest against the visit of the Iraqi official.
On his hand the Iraqi official stressed the need for moving the university away from the political conflicts witnessed in the country, saying that the student should not be involved in the political differences. He called those people who have differences with him not to act against the interests of the country during the current critical period.
The Iraqi premiere arrived Tuesday in Waset Governorate, as he conducted a meeting with the provincial officials, stressing the need for giving the priority to the educational side. He expressed appreciation to the Iraqi forces who fight against ISIS, saying that it is important to focus on improving the educational process not to allow extremists attract the young students.
He blamed media channels and newspapers for negatively affecting the security situation in the country and undermining the victories achieved by the Iraqi forces against the extremist groups. He added, “During the current critical period, the media should cooperate with the government to contain the public anger not to fuel protests. We are in a serious war. We should suspend the demonstrations to allow the Iraqi forces focus on their objectives.”
He added that the government will not allow the opposition parties to violate the rights of citizens or their possessions, saying, “We accept the peaceful opposition, while we do not allow any violations against the citizens or their possessions. We are currently taking the right direction. The country transfers from the state of division to unification. This is our objective to unify the country and to bridge the gap of difference  between the different parties, as these differences were the major reason behind the emergence of extremist groups, including ISIS.”