Thirteen civilians killed, over 700 others injured in mass protests in two weeks

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Thirteen civilians were killed, while 729 others, including security personnel, were injured during protests that have been staged across central and southern Iraq over the past two weeks, the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights said on Sunday.

“Authorities detained more than 600 protesters, some of them said were beaten and humiliated, while others said they were detained, although they did not take part in the protests,” Ali al-Bayati, spokesperson for the commission, said.

Bayati urged the local and federal governments to provide protesters with protection and fulfill their demands.

Protests were staged on Sunday in Nasiriyah and Samawah cities, while protesters shouted slogans against corruption in the country.

Earlier this month, demonstrations were staged against corruption, poor services and unemployment. Some protests reached to other cities in the south.

Security troops used tear gas and water hoses to disperse the protests, while live ammunition were sometimes used. The pro-government al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) in Najaf and Maysan fired shots against protesters who tried approaching their headquarters.

According to medical sources, some protesters were killed in Basra, Najaf, Samawah, Diwaniyah and Karbala.

Earlier today, Mostafa Saadon, the spokesman for the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, said mass protests in Iraq left 831 protesters killed and injured over the past 10 days.