Six protesters killed in southern Iraq rally

BASRA, Iraq: Six people were killed Tuesday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in ongoing unrest, as protesters rally against economic woes and the dire state of public services.

“Six demonstrators were killed and more than 20 wounded,” said Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of the government’s human rights council in Basra province.

Security forces “directly opened fire on protesters,” he said.

Medical sources previously said two demonstrators were killed on Tuesday as thousands of people rallied outside the local government headquarters in Basra.

During the protests, some people in the crowd hurled Molotov cocktails and fireworks at the government building, while security forces responded with tear gas and by firing shots into the air.

Around 15 members of the security forces were injured in the clashes, the medical sources said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said an investigation had been launched into the death of another protester the day before.

Addressing his weekly press conference in the capital Baghdad, Abadi reasserted he had ordered “no real bullets are to be fired, in the direction of protesters or in the air”.

Mekki Yasser Ashur died after being shot during protests, his family said Tuesday during his funeral march.

Protesters accompanied his coffin through the streets of Basra until the government building, before being dispersed by tear gas.

During the procession some armed civilians fired shots into the air and hailed Ashur as a “martyr”.

Police and military cordons had been put in place, blocking numerous roads, while Basra’s hospitals were filled with protesters bringing in people wounded in the clashes. — AFP