Over 40 killed in Iraq by government security forces and Iranian backed militias

Over 40 killed in Iraq by government security forces and Iranian backed militias

Ramazan Khalidov and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

 

Fresh violence erupted in Iraq after people chanted demands for change in several parts of Iraq. Once more, the disenfranchised called for jobs, hope, and an end to embedded corruption. Yet the security apparatus and Iranian backed militias met the protestors by killing them.

The latest death toll of over 40 people follows on from just below 150 being killed a few weeks earlier. During the earlier unrest that rocked Iraq, the government acknowledged that excessive force happened. However, the crisis is following a similar pattern whereby Iraqi security forces and Iranian backed militias are killing people.

The Independent reports, At least nine died when members of the Iranian-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia opened fire on protesters trying to set fire to their office in Nasiriya.”

Unsurprisingly, many protesters are fed up with political elites in Iraq who are serving the interests of America and Iran. Indeed, it seems that America and Iran are focused on their respective geopolitical concerns rather than the people of Iraq. At the same time, internal political cronyism and corruption are adding enormous fuel to the fire because so many people are struggling.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a popular Shia cleric, is trying to reach out to the poor and disenfranchised. Thus, he declared, “The Saeroon parliamentary bloc announces that it will go into opposition inside the House of Representatives and declares a sit-in inside parliament until the protesters’ legitimate demands are met.”

It remains to be seen how the government of Iraq will respond. However, the current government of Iraq and the Iranian backed Shia militias will come under greater distrust based on their actions.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-protests-politics/iraqi-cleric-sadrs-political-allies-go-into-opposition-idUKKBN1X50J3?il=0

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-protests-death-toll-baghdad-unrest-militia-green-zone-tahrir-square-a9172361.html

 

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