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Reuters: Iraqi security forces kill 45 protesters after burning Iranian consulate in Najaf
2019/11/29 00:35:06
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces shot dead at least 45 protesters on Thursday after demonstrators stormed the Iranian consulate overnight and set it ablaze, marking a turning point in an uprising against Tehran-backed authorities, a Reuters report said.
At least 29 people were killed when troops opened fire on protesters who closed a bridge in the southern city of Nasiriyah before dawn on Thursday and protesters later gathered at a police station. Medical sources said dozens were also wounded.
At least 29 people were killed when troops opened fire on protesters who closed a bridge in the southern city of Nasiriyah before dawn on Thursday and protesters later gathered at a police station. Medical sources said dozens were also wounded.
Four others were killed in Baghdad, where security forces fired live ammunition and rubber bullets near a bridge on the Tigris River. Twelve demonstrators were killed in clashes in the holy city of Najaf.
In Nassiriya, thousands of mourners defied a curfew and took to the streets for funerals of those killed in the protests.
Footage of the protesters cheering overnight as the flames raged at the consulate were a stunning change after years in which Iranian influence with Shi'ites in Arab countries was an important factor in the Middle East political landscape.
The ensuing bloodshed turned one of the most violent days since the uprising began in early October.
Iran closed the Mehran border crossing with Iraq on Thursday night for security reasons, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted a local border management official as saying.
"In light of the current events and the turmoil in the state of Iraq, the Mehran crossing has been closed as of tonight," Mojtaba Soleimani, director of the border post, was quoted as saying.
He said it was unclear when the border would be reopened.
The Iranian consulate in Najaf, a city with holy Shi'ite shrines and also the seat of the Shiite authority, has become charred.
The Iranian consulate in Najaf, a city with holy Shi'ite shrines and also the seat of the Shiite authority, has become charred.
The protesters, mostly Shi'ites, accused the Iraqi authorities of working against their people to defend Iran.
A protester who witnessed the fire at the consulate said security forces opened fire in an attempt to prevent demonstrators from burning it.
"All the riot police in Najaf and security forces started shooting at us as if we were burning all of Iraq," he told Reuters, declining to be named.
"The burning of the consulate last night was a courageous act and a reaction from the Iraqi people ... We don't want the Iranians," said a protester, Ali, in Najaf.
"There will be retaliation from Iran, I am sure, they are still here and the security forces will continue to shoot at us."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday the Iraqi government was responsible for protecting Iran's consulate.
"The Iraqi government is responsible for protecting its diplomatic centers and missions," Mousavi was quoted as saying by state television.
The official IRNA news agency said that the consulate staff, evacuated from the building shortly before its storming, was “safe and well”.
The authorities have so far resorted to violence to quell the unrest, killing hundreds with gunshot and tear gas, and at the same time put forward proposals for political reforms, which protesters described as marginal and formal.
Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has rejected calls to resign so far. Abdul Mahdi held meetings with senior politicians in the presence of the commander of the Quds Force, a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards assigned to troops and groups working for Tehran abroad.
A military statement said Abdul Mahdi on Thursday summoned the supervisor of the security sectors in Dhi Qar province, where Nasiriyah is located, to come to Baghdad "to deliberate on the reasons that led to the recent events" in the province.
In a sign that more violence is looming, Abu Mahdi, the military commander of the Popular Mobilization Brigade, which includes armed groups and most of its powerful factions, has close ties to Iran. Shiite in Iraq and resident in Najaf.
In a sign that more violence is looming, Abu Mahdi, the military commander of the Popular Mobilization Brigade, which includes armed groups and most of its powerful factions, has close ties to Iran. Shiite in Iraq and resident in Najaf.
"We will cut off the hand that is trying to approach Mr. Sistani," he said in a statement posted on the Hashd's website.
The influential Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued a new call for the government to resign, while warning those who set the consulate on fire risked a violent response from the authorities.
"Do not provide them with a cover that will cause the end of your revolution and keep the sanctuaries and their provinces and references as far as possible," Sadr said in a statement on his Twitter account.
"If the government does not resign, this is the beginning of the end of Iraq."
Fanar Haddad, a research fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, said the government could use the burning of the Iranian consulate as a pretext for a tougher campaign.
"The downside from the protesters' point of view is that this may reinforce the government narrative that the protesters are infiltrators, saboteurs and do not mean good."
"It sends a message to Iran, but it also benefits people like the engineer ... (by making available) an excuse to campaign and portray what happened as a threat to Sistani," he said.
Sistani rarely speaks in political affairs, but his influence has tremendous influence on public opinion, particularly in southern Iraq where Shi'ites are concentrated. Sistani has used Friday prayers in recent weeks to urge the government to implement real reforms and stop killing protesters.
An army statement said authorities had formed “crisis cells” in several provinces in an attempt to restore order.
"Crisis cells have been formed under the chairmanship of the conservative gentlemen," the statement said.
The protests, which began in Baghdad on Oct. 1 and spread to southern cities, are the toughest challenge facing the Shi'ite-dominated ruling class and have controlled state institutions since the 2003 US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
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