Internet access cut across much of Iraq - NGO

BAGHDAD (Reuters)Thursday, 03 Oct 2019

3:08 AM MYT 

 - Internet access has been cut off across much of Iraq including the capital Baghdad with connectivity falling below 70%, internet blockage observatory NetBlocks said, amid renewed anti-government protests that turned violent and spread nationwide.

Update: #Iraq is now largely offline amid widening mass-protests; situation on the ground unclear due to blackouts; real-time network data show ~75% of country including #Baghdad now offline (excl. autonomous regions) 📉

📰 https://t.co/7GF42YLDWU pic.twitter.com/zUzK36w8nC

— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) October 2, 2019

Earlier on Wednesday social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as messaging applications WhatsApp all appeared to be have been disabled across Iraq except in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region which has a separate internet infrastructure.

⚠️ Urgent: Internet access has just been cut across much of #Iraq including #Baghdad following the earlier blocking of social media platforms; multiple providers affected; nationwide connectivity now falling below 70%; incident ongoing 📉

📰 https://t.co/7GF42YLDWU pic.twitter.com/7YkvGrJZPy

— NetBlocks.org (@netblocks) October 2, 2019

The services were only accessible by using a VPN, which effectively disguises the location of a device.

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