Iraq's young protesters count cost of a month of violence

More than 250 have died and thousands injured in anti-government protests

In Al Umma Park in central Baghdad - the "park of the nation" - a small group of men and two women debated under ageing eucalyptus trees how best to articulate the demands of the protesters who have taken to the streets of Iraqi cities in their thousands this month.

"Burning army trucks won't help us, it will only help the government accuse us of being hooligans," said a young man. "If I give you 17 RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] launchers and you burn that building, how will that benefit our demands?" Another man called for the government to be toppled. As the group gathered around him listening, someone shouted: "Who made you a speaker?" This spurred the rest of the crowd to break into chants of "no one represents us" and "Iran out, out", denouncing Iraq's ruling Islamic parties and their Iranian backers.