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Iraq in turmoil as 45 shot dead by security forces in protests
Source: The Guardian and Reuters
Iraq in turmoil as 45 shot dead by security forces in protests
Deaths follow torching of Iran’s consulate in a challenge to Tehran’s power and influence on its neighbour
Reuters and Guardian staff
Fri 29 Nov 2019 01.24 GMT
Iraqi security forces have shot dead at least 45 protesters after demonstrators stormed and torched an Iranian consulate in Najaf, in what could mark a turning point in the uprising against the Tehran-backed authorities.
At least 29 people died in the southern city of Nassiriya when troops opened fire on demonstrators who blocked a bridge before dawn on Thursday and later gathered outside a police station. Police and medical sources said dozens of others were wounded.
Four people were killed in Baghdad, where security forces opened fire with live ammunition and rubber bullets against protesters near a bridge over the Tigris river, the sources said, and twelve died in clashes in Najaf.
In Nassiriya thousands of mourners took to the streets, defying a curfew to bury their dead after the mass shooting.
Video of protesters cheering in the night as flames billowed from the consulate were a stunning image after years in which Tehran’s influence among Shia Muslims in Arab states has been a defining factor in Middle East politics.
-snip-
Deaths follow torching of Iran’s consulate in a challenge to Tehran’s power and influence on its neighbour
Reuters and Guardian staff
Fri 29 Nov 2019 01.24 GMT
Iraqi security forces have shot dead at least 45 protesters after demonstrators stormed and torched an Iranian consulate in Najaf, in what could mark a turning point in the uprising against the Tehran-backed authorities.
At least 29 people died in the southern city of Nassiriya when troops opened fire on demonstrators who blocked a bridge before dawn on Thursday and later gathered outside a police station. Police and medical sources said dozens of others were wounded.
Four people were killed in Baghdad, where security forces opened fire with live ammunition and rubber bullets against protesters near a bridge over the Tigris river, the sources said, and twelve died in clashes in Najaf.
In Nassiriya thousands of mourners took to the streets, defying a curfew to bury their dead after the mass shooting.
Video of protesters cheering in the night as flames billowed from the consulate were a stunning image after years in which Tehran’s influence among Shia Muslims in Arab states has been a defining factor in Middle East politics.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/29/iraq-in-turmoil-as-45-shot-dead-by-security-forces-in-protests