WASHINGTON—The White
House indicated late Sunday
that U.S. forces will withdraw
from northern Syria in ad-
vance of an expected incursion
of Turkish forces in the region
that could spark fighting with
U.S.-backed Kurds.
“Turkey will soon be mov-
ing forward with its long-
planned operation into North-
ern Syria. The United States
Armed Forces will not support
or be involved in the opera-
tion, and United States forces,
having defeated the ISIS terri-
torial ‘Caliphate,’ will no lon-
ger be in the immediate area,”
White House press secretary
Stephanie Grisham said in a
statement.
The statement, released
around 11 p.m. in Washington,
followed an earlier phone call
Sunday between President
Trump and Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Last year, Mr. Trump called
for a complete U.S. withdrawal
from Syria but ultimately re-
versed himself after a backlash
from GOP allies and top mili-
tary officials.
Sunday night’s announce-
ment came as U.S. officials
have grown concerned that
Turkey would mount a mili-
tary incursion into northern
Syria and set off a battle with
Kurdish fighters known as the
YPG, a group Turkey considers
to be a terrorist affiliate of the
Turkey-based PKK. The U.S.
considers the Kurds allies in
destroying Islamic State’s ter-
ritorial hold in Syria.
If Turkey conducts a wide-
spread incursion using heavy
arms and forces, the U.S.
might have no choice but to
pull its more than 1,000 troops
out of Syria to avoid a poten-
tial conflict with a North At-
lantic Treaty Organization ally,
officials have said.BYALEXLEARYU.S. to Exit
Contested
Area in
Syria
pledges as empty promises, in-
creasing their demands to in-
clude the removal of the entire
political class. Security forces’
violent response could lead to
further escalation if protesters
respond with increasing force,
political analysts said.
“You’re kind of seeing glim-
mers of the early days of [the
war in] Syria,” said Fanar
Haddad, senior research fellow
at the Middle East Institute at
the National University of Sing-
apore. “It’s not a spectacular
scenario any longer for this to
degenerate into civil war.”
The European Union, the In-
ternational Committee of the
Red Cross and other organiza-
tions have called on security
forces to exercise restraint.
The British ambassador to Iraq
said he had spoken to Mr. Ab-
dul-Mahdi and President Bar-
ham Saleh and urged rapid ac-
tion, expressing “extreme
concern about the levels of vio-
lence used, including snipers.”Protesters clashed with se-
curity forces Sunday in the
sprawling eastern district of
Sadr City, resulting in the
deaths of 8 protesters, an Inte-
rior Ministry official said.
Interior Ministry spokesman
Saad Maan earlier said thedeath toll from the protests had
reached 104, including 8 mem-
bers of the security forces.
Yahya Rasool, the spokesman
for Iraq’s Joint Operations
Command, confirmed that snip-
ers had fatally shot two protest-
ers and two members of the se-SputteringRebuild
Buffetedbywarsandinvasion,Iraq’seconomyhasbarelykept
pacewithotherMiddleEastcountries.GDPpercapita*:05,0 0010,15,$20,1990 2000 2010IraqIran
Arab
LeagueGulfWarU.S.invasion*Measured in international dollars, adjusted for purchasing power parity
Source: World Bankcurityforces, saying the snipers
weren’t under the command of
security forces.
“We are committed by rules
of engagement, and no live
ammunition was used,” Mr.
Rasool said. The protests ap-
pear leaderless, leaving au-
thorities unsure of whom to
negotiate with, said Defense
Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen.
Tahsin al-Khafaji.
Late Saturday, unidentified
gunmen stormed the offices of
several TV channels and
smashed their equipment. State
TV showed footage of calm
streets and flowing traffic.
Mr. Abdul-Mahdi, an econo-
mist who studied at Paris’s
Sorbonne University, came to
power as a compromise leader
following an election in which
Iraqis cited corruption and the
economy as the top concerns.
He has struggled to convince
Iraqis that he can reform the
political and economic system.
In a speech Friday, he gave lit-
tle hope, saying there was no
“magic solution.”
“The government cannot
achieve in a year the dreams
that couldn’t be achieved in
the past [16] years,” he said.
The government hasn’t re-
leased unemployment statis-
tics since 2017, when the job-
less rate was 13% and youth
unemployment nearly double
that. Economic observers say
the job situation has only
worsened since then.
Iraq’s economy contracted
0.6% in 2018, and the budget is
projected to shift from a sur-
plus of close to 8% in 2018 to
a deficit of 4% of gross domes-
tic product in 2019, according
to the International Monetary
Fund.
On Sunday, the council of
ministers unveiled a further
raft of measures to appease
protesters, including the dis-
tribution of plots of land to
low-income families, the con-
struction of 100,000 housing
units, the provision of sti-
pends to 150,000 unemployed
people and a training program
for a further 150,000 people.
—Benoit Faucon in London
contributed to this article.BAGHDAD—Years of run-
away spending, economic mis-
management and corruption in
Iraq have combusted in pro-
tests that have killed more
than 100 people and risk spi-
raling into civil conflict.
The anger spilling into the
streets for almost a week has
built over the 16 years since the
U.S.-led invasion, which Iraqis
had hoped would usher in an era
of prosperity after years of war
and sanctions. Protesters braved
tear gas, rubber bullets and live
rounds, including sniper fire
from unidentified men posi-
tioned on rooftops.
Successive governments
have failed to spread the coun-
try’s massive oil wealth and
create a vibrant economy
while the population has
boomed to nearly 40 million.
The 800,000 people who reach
working age each year have
few options, widening the gap
between rich and poor.
“We want jobs. We want
salaries. We want to feel like
we are part of this country.
We want a decent life so we
can feed our families,” said
Salam Radif, a jobless 36-year-
old Baghdad resident who
took part in the protests.
“We’re asking for basic ser-
vices, not a miracle.”
The protests, which have
escalated since taking hold on
Tuesday, present a crisis for
Prime Minister Adel Abdul-
Mahdi, who took office a year
ago vowing to overhaul the
economy. In recent days, the
government has rushed to
promise jobs and funds for the
poor in a bid to address de-
mands for employment and
better living conditions. Many
of the protesters are young
men with little to lose.
But protesters have dis-
missed Mr. Abdul-Mahdi’sBYGHASSANADNAN
ANDISABELCOLESIraqis Rage Over Corruption, Jobs
More than 100 people
have been killed in
almost a week of
escalating protestsAnIraqi protester waved the national flag during a demonstration in Baghdad on Saturday.AHMADAL-RUBAYE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGESKAYA SURVIVED!
Shewas born 4 months
early and spent more than
5 months in the hospital.
©2017 March of Dimes FoundationSign up at marchforbabies.org
A6|Monday,October 7 , 2019 ***** THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL.
WORLD NEWS