New casualties in fresh Iraq anti-govt protests

Baghdad: Two members of the Iraqi security forces and three protesters were killed in clashes that erupted during anti-government rallies in Baghdad and the southern province of Basra, in which another 75 people were injured. Two of the members of a military unit acting under the flag of Basra’s Operational Command were run over while firing on protesters who had blocked a roadway on Monday, a source inside the command told Efe news.

Protesters tried to cut the road leading to the ports of Umm Qasr and Khawr az-Zubayr as well as the oil fields located in the western part of the province.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters, leaving 25 of them suffering from breathing problems, the source added.

Clashes also erupted in Baghdad, where three people were killed including an activist named Yusuf Sattar, while over 50 people were adversely affected by tear gas, an Interior Ministry source told Efe news.

Demonstrators also gathered on Tahrir and Tayaran squares, as well as on other plazas that have become epicenters for rallies since the protests first began on October 1, 2019. (IANS)

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