BASRA: Iraqi security forces arrested at least five men from a local political party’s headquarters in the southern city of Basra Monday after a protester was shot dead outside the building.
It was the first death since modest anti-government protests resumed on Sunday, ending months of relative calm just as new Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhemi was sworn in.
Kadhemi has extended a hand to demonstrators and promised accountability for the more than 550 people killed in violence at anti-government rallies that first erupted in October.
Late Sunday, protesters had massed around the office of a local party in Basra, once more demanding the ouster of the Iraqi ruling class they see as corrupt and beholden to Iran.
A 20-year-old protester was shot in the head and later died in hospital, a medical source told AFP.
Hours later, security forces stormed the party office located around one kilometer (less than a mile) from Basra’s main protest camp.
“We arrested five men who shot at protesters from the headquarters,” Bassem Al-Maliky, the press officer for Basra’s security forces, told AFP.
They also seized rifles and ammunition from the base.
The arrests marked a rare incident of a swift official response to protest-related deaths, for which only a handful of security forces have been held to account.
Demonstrations meanwhile continued in Baghdad and different parts of Iraq.
In the town of Kut on Monday morning, protesters surrounded the home of the local governor, AFP’s correspondents there said.
There were also rallies overnight in Diwaniyah, with hundreds gathering despite advice from authorities to maintain social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Hassan Al-Mayahi, a protester there, said that “despite the dangers of the coronavirus, the political deals of the parties and their neglect of our past demands have forced us to return to the street again to pressure them to give us our rights.”
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Iraq security forces arrest armed men after protester killed
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Iraq security forces arrest armed men after protester killed
- Kadhemi has extended a hand to demonstrators and promised accountability for the more than 550 people killed at anti-government rallies
Ex-diplomats defend UN Palestinians expert Francesca Albanese against France FM
- More than 150 European ex-diplomats and lawmakers urge Jean-Noel Barrot to retract ‘inaccurate’ comments about Albanese
- UN expert says claims she referred to Israel as a “common enemy” are completely false
PARIS: More than 150 European ex-diplomats and lawmakers on Wednesday urged France’s foreign minister to retract “inaccurate” comments about a UN expert on Palestinians rights who he wants to resign.
France and Germany have called for Francesca Albanese to step down over remarks in which she referred to a “common enemy of humanity” after criticizing “most of the world” and the media for enabling Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
Critics and Israel have accused the UN Special Rapporteur of referring to Israel as a “common enemy,” while Albanese has denounced this as a “manipulation” and “completely false.”
In response to a question about the comments, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on February 11 told parliament she should step down.
In an open letter sent to AFP, the former diplomats criticized what they called “the use of inaccurate and manipulated elements to discredit a holder of an independent UN mandate.”
They called on Barrot to “retract his inaccurate statements about Ms Albanese and correct them.”
“This controversy must not divert attention from the massacres of civilians, nor from the humanitarian crisis and the massive human rights violations taking place in Gaza,” said the signatories.
The letter, written in French, was signed by mostly former foreign ministers and diplomats from the Netherlands.
More than a dozen current members of parliament and senators from Europe were also among the signatories, along with a former foreign minister of South Africa.
Albanese had spoken via videoconference at a forum in Doha on February 7 organized by the Al Jazeera network.
“The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support — this is a challenge,” she had said.
Albanese said that “international law has been stabbed in the heart” but added that there is an opportunity since “we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy.”
France and Germany have called for Francesca Albanese to step down over remarks in which she referred to a “common enemy of humanity” after criticizing “most of the world” and the media for enabling Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
Critics and Israel have accused the UN Special Rapporteur of referring to Israel as a “common enemy,” while Albanese has denounced this as a “manipulation” and “completely false.”
In response to a question about the comments, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on February 11 told parliament she should step down.
In an open letter sent to AFP, the former diplomats criticized what they called “the use of inaccurate and manipulated elements to discredit a holder of an independent UN mandate.”
They called on Barrot to “retract his inaccurate statements about Ms Albanese and correct them.”
“This controversy must not divert attention from the massacres of civilians, nor from the humanitarian crisis and the massive human rights violations taking place in Gaza,” said the signatories.
The letter, written in French, was signed by mostly former foreign ministers and diplomats from the Netherlands.
More than a dozen current members of parliament and senators from Europe were also among the signatories, along with a former foreign minister of South Africa.
Albanese had spoken via videoconference at a forum in Doha on February 7 organized by the Al Jazeera network.
“The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support — this is a challenge,” she had said.
Albanese said that “international law has been stabbed in the heart” but added that there is an opportunity since “we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy.”
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