Protests rage in Iraq

Iraq’s southern hotspot of Nasiriyah was in bloody upheaval yesterday after a government crackdown killed 35 protesters and thousands defied a curfew to march in their funerals, following the dramatic torching of an Iranian consulate.

Late Wednesday, protesters outraged at Tehran’s political influence in Iraq burned down the Iranian consulate in the shrine city of Najaf, yelling “Victory to Iraq!” and “Iran out!” In response, Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi early yesterday ordered military chiefs to deploy in several restive provinces to “impose security and restore order”, the army said.

But by the afternoon, after the protesters’ deaths, the premier had already removed one of the commanders, General Jamil Shummary. Shummary had been dispatched to the premier’s birthplace of Nasiriyah, a southern city that has been a protest hotspot for weeks.

The ensuing crackdown was particularly bloody, with at least 35 protesters killed and more than 200 wounded as security forces cleared sit-ins with live fire, medics and security sources said.

The provincial governor in Nasiriyah, Adel al-Dakhili, blamed the crackdown on Shummary, who was the military commander of the southern port city of Basra when demonstrations there were brutally suppressed in 2018. Dakhili demanded the premier sack him, and hours later, state television announced Shummary removed from the post.