Iraq protesters torch Iran consulate in Najaf, curfew imposed

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS NOVEMBER 27, 2019 / 8:13 AM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

Iraq protesters torch Iran consulate in Najaf, curfew imposed

John Davison, Ahmed Aboulenein
5 MIN READ

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi protesters stormed the Iranian consulate in the southern city of Najaf and set fire to the building on Wednesday bringing a new level of violence to demonstrations aimed at the downfall of a government backed by Tehran.

It was the strongest expression yet of the anti-Iranian sentiment of Iraqi demonstrators, who have taken to the streets for weeks in Baghdad and the Shi’ite Muslim-majority south - and have been gunned down in their hundreds by Iraqi security forces.

Staff at the consulate had evacuated shortly before demonstrators broke in, police and civil defense first responders said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Local authorities imposed a curfew following the incident, state media reported.

The protests that began in Baghdad on Oct. 1 and have spread through southern cities are the most complex challenge facing the Shi’ite-dominated ruling class that has controlled state institutions and patronage networks since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-protests/iraq-protesters-torch-iran-consulate-in-najaf-curfew-imposed-idUSKBN1Y11JI

[IcyPeas]

1. jeez, this does not sound good at all

(also I haven't heard this on the news...and I watch the news all the time, pathetic).

It was the strongest expression yet of the anti-Iranian sentiment of Iraqi demonstrators, who have taken to the streets for weeks in Baghdad and the Shi’ite Muslim-majority south - and have been gunned down in their hundreds by Iraqi security forces.

Security forces shot dead two people in Kerbala, near Najaf, overnight and two in Baghdad on Wednesday, while a fifth person died when security forces opened fire during protests in the southern oil capital of Basra.

Demonstrators prevented government employees getting to work in Basra by installing concrete barriers painted as mock-up coffins of relatives killed in weeks of unrest, a Reuters witness said.

The Sunni extremist group on Thursday claimed three bomb blasts in Baghdad overnight which killed at least six people, although they provided no evidence for the claim.

“But after the government started killing peaceful protesters we won’t leave before it’s been toppled together with the corrupt ruling class.”

Security forces meanwhile shot dead more demonstrators. In the holy city of Kerbala, south of Baghdad, they used live ammunition against protesters, killing two overnight. Two more were killed in clashes near Baghdad’s Ahrar Bridge on Wednesday.

Near Basra one protester died of wounds from gunfire, police and medics said, bringing the toll since unrest broke out on Oct. 1 to 344 people dead nationwide.