3 protesters killed in clashes as Iraq tries to reopen port
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 and medical 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 town of Shatrah, north of the southern city of Nasiriyah.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said security forces in Umm Qasr fired live ammunition and tear gas and that protesters seized an armored vehicle. Video showed dozens of protesters running on a road near the port with gunfire crackling in the distance.
“This is Iraqi blood on the ground!” one of the protesters screamed. “Iraqi blood is being spilled because of this rotten government.”
Security forces in Iraq have killed at least 267 protesters in two major waves of anti-government demonstrations since Oct. 1 in Baghdad and across the mostly Shiite south. The protesters want an overhaul of the political system established after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, accusing the government and major parties of corruption and incompetence in dealing with the economy and unemployment.
In southern Iraq, protesters ransacked and torched the offices of political parties linked to Iran. After the clashes in Shatrah, protesters set fire to the homes of three local members of parliament, according to protesters and media reports.