40 protesters killed by security forces in Iraq as violence escalates

At least 40 protesters were killed by Iraqi security forces in a single day amid violent, anti-government unrest.

A wave of resentment towards Iraq’s political class is being met with brutal crackdowns from security forces in Baghdad and the south of the country, the AP reported. Protesters are demanding the ouster of the government that has ruled there since the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

At least 350 people have died since the protests began on October 1.

40 Iraqi protesters shot

The wave of violence erupted after demonstrators set the Iranian consulate ablaze in the sacred city of Najaf Wednesday evening. Government authorities responded by imposing a curfew and guarding government and religious buildings in the city, which is a focal point of Shiite Islam in the nation’s central region.

The next evening, security forces shot demonstrators who attempted to set a mosque on fire, killing five people and injuring 32. All told, security forces killed four protesters in Baghdad and 36 others throughout southern Iraq within a 24-hour period, in the cities of Najaf and Nasiriyah.

The decentralized protests erupted over discontent with corruption in Iraq’s government and creeping Iranian influence. Iraq’s government has responded with force, firing live rounds at demonstrators who have taken to burning tires and staging sit-ins to block streets and bridges.

Protesters have also sought to cut off access to oil fields. In response, Iraq has dispatched military forces throughout oil-rich southern provinces to disperse the demonstrators.

In Nasiriyah, security forces shot and killed 31 demonstrators who blocked major bridges in the city, and 215 others were hurt. Demonstrators in Baghdad who attempted to cross a bridge into the city’s “Green Zone,” where the parliament is located, were also fired upon — four were killed and 22 wounded.

Protests escalate

In Najaf, Iranian staffers managed to escape the consulate Wednesday night before demonstrators got inside, replaced the Iranian flag with an Iraqi one and set the building on fire, the AP reported. But Iraqi forces fired on the demonstrators, killing one and injuring 35.

Iran condemned the attack on the consulate and demanded a “responsible, strong and effective” response through Abbas Mousavi, a Foreign Ministry spokesman. Iraq has said that the consulate burning came from people “outside of the genuine protesters” who wanted to hurt relations between the two countries.

The unrest in the country’s Shiite south has received support from religious Shiite leaders like Muqtada al-Sadr, who called on protesters to swear off violence while demanding that the government respond to their demands. He denied that his supporters were involved in the consulate burning.

“If the government does not resign, this will be the beginning of the end of Iraq,” he said. Several more Iraqis were killed Friday as the nation’s prime minister announced his resignation.