World

Iraqis protest to defy 'slaughter' in Baghdad

December 08, 2019
Iraqi protesters mourn and pray at the site where 17 people at least were killed and dozens more wounded overnight at Al-Khilani square in the capital Baghdad, amid ongoing anti-government demonstrations on Sunday. -AFP
Iraqi protesters mourn and pray at the site where 17 people at least were killed and dozens more wounded overnight at Al-Khilani square in the capital Baghdad, amid ongoing anti-government demonstrations on Sunday. -AFP

BAGHDAD - Thousands attended angry protests in Baghdad and southern Iraq Saturday, grieving but defiant after 20 of them were killed in an attack the previous day that demonstrators described as "slaughter".

The protest movement faced another worrying turn on Saturday after an armed drone targeted the home of Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr, an attack his office said could lead to "civil war."

The dramatic developments have threatened to derail the anti-government rallies rocking Iraq since October, the largest and deadliest grassroots movement in decades.

Late Friday, at least 20 protesters were killed or sustained wounds that later proved fatal, while dozens more were injured, when unidentified gunmen attacked a large building where protesters had camped out for weeks, medics said.

Four police officers also died, the medics said, with witnesses saying gunshots were fired in the dark from atop the building towards Al-Sinek, where security forces are stationed.

The toll rose throughout the day on Saturday as wounded demonstrators and police officers died in hospital.

The violence pushed the protest toll past 450 dead and to nearly 20,000 wounded, according to an AFP tally compiled from medics, police and a national rights commission.

Under stormy skies, young men in central Baghdad prayed over an Iraqi flag to mourn those who died the previous night, sobbing heavily.

Small clusters of protesters stood near the charred parking complex that was attacked, as larger crowds flocked to nearby Tahrir Square.

"They fired intensely, mercilessly on the protesters," one witness told AFP.

"They wouldn't let us evacuate the wounded. It was slaughter."

As night fell on Saturday, protesters feared the same scene would play out again.

"The same type of men who came in last night are back and police are not stopping them," one worried demonstrator told AFP.

Protesters had suspected their movement's legitimacy would be smeared or pushed towards chaos and were particularly wary of any partisan support.

In Diwaniyah, another protest hotspot, thousands turned out early on Saturday but security forces, too, deployed in larger numbers.

In the first comment on the Friday incident from a senior official, President Barham Saleh called on authorities to "identify the criminals and bring them to justice".

The Kurdistan region's president later described the deaths as "unjustified crimes" and said they were "unacceptable."

The United Nations said "acts of violence that are gang-driven, arising from external loyalties, politically motivated or intended to settle scores, risk placing Iraq on a dangerous trajectory,"

Amnesty International said the attack "raises serious questions as to how heavily-armed gunmen in a fleet of vehicles were seemingly able to pass through Baghdad's checkpoints and inflict such a bloody onslaught." -AFP


December 08, 2019
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