Iraq Protests: A Dozen Killed, Hundreds Injured in Two Days
A dozen of protesters have been killed in Iraq in the past two days, while hundreds were injured, Iraq's High Commission of Human Rights confirmed on Sunday.
The commission further explained that nine protesters were killed in capital Baghdad, while three others were left dead in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
Moreover, 230 people were also injured, including demonstrators and security personnel, the statement added, noting that 118 of them were registered in Baghdad and the rest were in Dhi Qar and Basra provinces.
The security forces, in the meantime, have arrested a total of 89 protesters in Baghdad and Basra during the past 48 hours, according to the press release.
After Iraqi powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced on Saturday that he would halt his support to the anti-government protests, the security forces raided the camps of the demonstrators in separate areas across Iraq, intensifying their efforts to end the demonstrations.
Iraq has been rocked by mass protests since early October, over 600 protesters have so far been killed and more than 25,000 others suffered injuries.