Death toll from Iraq unrest up to 30 people, Over 2,300 people injured: Rights Commission
Moscow/ Sputnik/UNI The number of people killed during violent anti-government protests that resumed in Iraq on Friday has increased to 30 people, while over 2,300 people have been injured, the country’s High Commission For Human Rights said.
On Friday, media reported, citing the Iraqi Interior Ministry, that two protesters had been killed, 377 demonstrators had been injured and 72 security officers had been killed in the unrest.
"The number of victims among demonstrators who died in clashes between security forces, party offices guards and protesters has reached 30 people, including eight people in Baghdad, nine people in Maysan [province], nine people in Dhi Qar [province], three in Basra and one in Al Muthanna," the commission wrote on Facebook late on Friday.
The number of people who have sustained injuries in the unrest has climbed to 2,312. There are both the protesters and security officers among them.
The majority of those injured — 1,493 people — was registered in Baghdad, while 90 people were injured in Dhi Qar, 10 people in the Wasit province, 151 people in Al Muthanna province, 301 in the Basra province, 112 people in Al Diwaniyah province, 105 people in the Maysan province and 50 in the Karbala province.
Moreover, material damage was inflicted on 50 government buildings and offices in Al Diwaniyah, Maysan, Wasit, Dhi War, Basra and Babylon governorates.
The protests began on October 1 and were suspended in mid-October for pilgrimage before resuming on Friday. During the first wave of protests, 149 people were killed and around 3,500 people sustained injuries. Demonstrators have said that they were attacked by security forces including those who used live ammunition.
The demonstrators call on the government to resign and demand economic reforms and fighting against corruption. As the protests resumed on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said that he would carry out a cabinet reshuffle and introduce changes to election laws. Mahdi said that the government's resignation, demanded by protesters, would throw the country in chaos.
Though the prime minister promised that security officers would ensure the safety of the protesters, the forces reportedly used water cannons and tear gas against the demonstrators in central Baghdad early on Friday.
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