BAGHDAD: The death toll from week-long anti-government protests that erupted in the Iraqi capital and other cities at the start of the month totalled 157, an official inquiry found on Tuesday.
Baghdad accounted for 111 of the dead, nearly all of whom were protesters, the inquiry found.
Around 70 percent of the deaths were caused by bullet wounds “to the head or chest,” according to the findings, published as Iraq braces for fresh protests on Friday.
The official toll included 149 civilians and eight members of the security forces killed between October 1 and 6, during protests in Baghdad and across southern provinces.
Four security personnel were killed in Baghdad, where clashes initially centered around the iconic Tahrir Square after protesters rallied to demand jobs, services and an end to corruption.
Later unrest in the capital culminated in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, which faced a bloody night of violence.
Authorities formed a high commission of inquiry to investigate, after initially only acknowledging security forces used excessive force in just a few instances.
In its report, the inquiry blamed some deaths on security forces, but also mentioned other “shooters,” without identifying them.
From the start, authorities accused “unidentified snipers” posted on rooftops overlooking protesters and security forces for deaths.
The inquiry also announced the dismissal of commanders across the security forces, including from the army, police, anti-terror, anti-riot, anti-crime, intelligence and national security units.
The commanders were stationed in Baghdad and provinces south of the capital including Diwaniyah, Misan, Babylon, Wasit, Najaf and Dhi Qar.
Their dismissal must be confirmed by Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, who faces public pressure ahead of the first anniversary of his cabinet on Friday, when fresh protests are expected.
Human rights groups and Iraqis able to post on social media — inaccessible without a virtual private network (VPN) application — accuse security forces of responsibility for protester deaths: either by firing themselves or by failing to protect demonstrators from snipers.
Iraqi security forces used ‘excessive force’ during protests that killed 157 -government inquiry
Iraqi security forces used ‘excessive force’ during protests that killed 157 -government inquiry
- 149 civilians and 8 members of the security forces were killed
- More than 70% of the deaths were caused by shots to the head or chest
Algeria parliament to vote on law declaring French colonization ‘state crime’
- The vote comes as the two countries are embroiled in a major diplomatic crisis
ALGERIA: Algeria’s parliament is set to vote on Wednesday on a law declaring France’s colonization of the country a “state crime,” and demanding an apology and reparations.
The vote comes as the two countries are embroiled in a major diplomatic crisis, and analysts say that while Algeria’s move is largely symbolic, it could still be politically significant.
The bill states that France holds “legal responsibility for its colonial past in Algeria and the tragedies it caused,” according to a draft seen by AFP.
The proposed law “is a sovereign act,” parliament speaker Brahim Boughali was quoted by the APS state news agency as saying.
It represents “a clear message, both internally and externally, that Algeria’s national memory is neither erasable nor negotiable,” he added.
France’s colonization of Algeria from 1830 until 1962 remains a sore spot in relations between the two countries.
French rule over Algeria was marked by mass killings and large-scale deportations, all the way to the bloody war of independence from 1954-1962.
Algeria says the war killed 1.5 million people, while French historians put the death toll lower at 500,000 in total, 400,000 of them Algerian.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously acknowledged the colonization of Algeria as a “crime against humanity,” but has stopped short of offering an apology.
Asked last week about the vote, French foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said he would not comment on “political debates taking place in foreign countries.”
Hosni Kitouni, a researcher in colonial history at the University of Exeter in the UK, said that “legally, this law has no international scope and therefore is not binding for France.”
But “its political and symbolic significance is important: it marks a rupture in the relationship with France in terms of memory,” he said.
