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Nasiriyah (Iraq) (AFP)
Six people were killed in clashes between protesters who opposed the Iraqi government and other supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the southern city of Nassiriya, according to a new figure reported by doctors to AFP on Saturday, while other cities imposed new ones. security measures.
On Friday there were clashes between supporters of the anti-government youth protest movement that began in October 2019 and supporters of al-Sadr, who called on their supporters to take to the streets in a show of political power, given the proximity of the legislative elections scheduled for next June.
In the southern city of Nassiriya, anti-government activists accused Sadr supporters of shooting at them and setting fire to their tents at their main gathering place in Al-Haboubi square.
The clashes continued throughout the night, as doctors reported that six people died as of Saturday morning, five of them from gunshot wounds, and at least 60 were injured.
But an AFP journalist reported that anti-government protesters returned to the square on Saturday morning to pitch their tents.
The authorities fired the city’s chief of police, opened an investigation and imposed a night curfew in Nasiriyah.
Other cities have also taken security measures, as Kut and Amara in the north imposed new restrictions on movement.
Nasiriyah is an important stronghold of the anti-government protest movement.
The city also witnessed one of the bloodiest incidents since the protests began, as more than thirty people were killed in the violence that accompanied the demonstrations on November 28 last year.
The incident sparked widespread anger across Iraq, and the Shiite supreme cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for the resignation of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
The new prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, reached out to the protesters as he sought to fulfill one of their most important demands by passing the parliamentary elections in June 2021.
Elections will be held in accordance with a new law, rather than voting by lists, as individuals will vote and electoral districts will shrink.
However, most observers hope to postpone the election date by at least a few months, and experts hope that Al-Sadr and his candidates will benefit from the new electoral law.
© 2020 AFP
