BAGDHADAD: The United Nations chief Antonio Guterres denounced as “disturbing” reports that Iraqi security forces have fired live ammunition at anti-government protesters in Baghdad, as mass rallies continued to rock the capital and southern Iraq.
The demonstrations broke out on October 1 in anger over corruption and unemployment but have morphed into demands that the entire ruling system be upended.
The violence has left nearly 280 dead, with security forces resuming their use of live rounds on Monday after nearly two weeks of using volleys of tear gas, but no firearms, to push back protesters.
Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his “serious concern over the rising number of deaths and injuries during the ongoing demonstrations in Iraq.”
“Reports of the continued use of live ammunition against demonstrators are disturbing,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
He called for all acts of violence to be investigated “seriously” and renewed his appeal for “meaningful dialogue between the government and demonstrators.”
In Baghdad, protesters had been concentrated in Tahrir Square but have increasingly spilled over onto nearby bridges leading to the western bank of the Tigris.
For days, they have faced off against security forces on the Al-Jumhuriyah bridge, which links them to the Green Zone where government offices and embassies are based.
They then spread to Al-Sinek, which ends near the Iranian embassy, and Al-Ahrar, near other government buildings.
A group of protesters Wednesday tried to cross a fourth bridge, Al-Shuhada, but were met with live rounds from security forces, an AFP correspondent said.
Several protesters were wounded.
“The riot police hit us with batons on our heads and we threw rocks at them,” said Mahmoud, a 20-year-old protester being treated by medics after trying to cross Al-Shuhada bridge.
“But then they started firing live rounds on people.”
Even the tear gas usage has been deadly, however, with medics and rights group Amnesty International saying security forces appeared to be firing the canisters directly at protesters.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said security forces were instructed to use force if protesters got close to important government buildings including the central bank.
On Wednesday, at least four people died of wounds sustained in earlier protests, medical sources told AFP.
Oil-rich Iraq is OPEC’s second biggest producer, but one in five people live in poverty and youth unemployment stands at 25 percent, according to the World Bank.
UN chief condemns live fire at Iraqi protesters as ‘disturbing’
UN chief condemns live fire at Iraqi protesters as ‘disturbing’
- In Baghdad, protesters had been concentrated in Tahrir Square but have increasingly spilled over onto nearby bridges leading to the western bank of the Tigris
- A group of protesters Wednesday tried to cross a fourth bridge, Al-Shuhada, but were met with live rounds from security forces
Iraq welcomes the appointment of Iran’s new supreme leader
- Armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah said it reflects a profound understanding “of the existential challenges confronting the nation”
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani welcomed on Monday the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader after his predecessor and father was killed in US and Israeli strikes.
“We express our confidence in the ability of the new leadership in the Islamic Republic of Iran to manage this critical stage,” and to further strengthen “the unity of the Iranian people” amid the current challenges, Sudani said in a statement.
He stressed that Iraq stands in solidarity with Iran and supports “all steps aimed at ending the conflict.”
Iran wields significant influence in Iraqi politics, and also backs armed groups whose power has grown both politically and financially.
Iraq has for decades been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.
Pro-Tehran Iraqi groups were among the first to welcome the new supreme leader.
The powerful Badr organization said the new leadership represents a “blessed continuity of the path of the Islamic revolution.”
The Asaib Ahl Al-Haq faction said choosing Mojtaba Khamenei shows continuity and “reinforcement of the Islamic republic’s role as a central pillar in the axis of resistance.”
Armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah said it reflects a profound understanding “of the existential challenges confronting the nation.”
“The best successor to the best predecessor,” said Kataeb Hezbollah, which is part of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq — a pro-Iran alliance that has been claiming attacks on US bases since the start of the war in the Middle East.
Senior Iraqi politician and moderate cleric Ammar Al-Hakim wished the new supreme leader “success in following the path of his martyred father... in upholding the word of truth.”
