Iraq clears sit-in square, a year after mass protests began

Iraqi security forces on Saturday cleared out sit-in tents from the capital's central square that has been the epicenter of the anti-government protest movement, a year after the eruption of demonstrations against corruption led to months of clashes with authorities across Iraq. More than 500 people were killed during the months-long protest movement, many of them demonstrators shot by Iraqi security forces. Iraqi authorities also reopened the nearby Jumhuriyah bridge, which leads toward the heavily fortified Green Zone housing government buildings and foreign embassies.