3 protesters killed in fresh clashes in Iraq

BAGHDAD: At least three anti-government protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces in southern Iraq, officials said Tuesday as authorities tried to reopen the country’s main port, which had been blocked by demonstrators for three days.

Security officials said a protester was killed and eight more were wounded in Umm Qasr, a key oil terminal on the Persian Gulf. The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights, a semi-official agency, said two people were killed and 23 wounded in clashes in the southern city of Nasiriyah.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters, said security forces in Umm Qasr were firing live ammunition and tear gas, and that protesters have seized an armored vehicle.

Iraq has seen massive antigovernment demonstrations in Baghdad and across the mostly Shiite south since October 25. The protests are calling for an overhaul of the political system established after the 2003 Us-led invasion, accusing the government and major political parties of corruption and incompetence.

Security forces have killed at least 267 protesters since early October during two major waves of protests. In southern Iraq, protesters have ransacked and torched the offices of political parties linked to Iran, and on Sunday night they attacked the Iranian consulate in Karbala.

In Baghdad, protesters crossed a bridge over the Tigris River on Monday and clashed with security forces near the headquarters of state-run TV and the PMO.