Thousands of Iraqis in several cities in the south of the country took to the streets on Friday, calling for the dissolution of the government. Activists had campaigned for a million-strong nationwide protest, but the crowds did not reach this number.

The demonstrations, which began last October, were overshadowed in recent weeks by a spike in tensions between Iran and the US that played out in Iraq, culminating in the US assassinating Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani and Iraq’s militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iran firing a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases housing US troops. 

The protests took place in Shiite-majority provinces like Baghdad, Karbala, and Basra. In addition to anti-establishment slogans, demonstrators denounced both the United States and Iran. “Screw Iran! America!” they chanted in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protest movement in the capital. 

Two journalists covering the demonstrations in Basra were killed. Prominent Iraqi journalist Ahmed Abdul-Samad and his cameraman Safa al-Ghali were shot by unknown gunmen in their car in the southern city. They worked for Dijlah TV. Abdul-Samad had covered the protests since their beginning. 

Global media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned their killing.

“No journalist should have to fear for their safety or be singled out for attack over their coverage of protests,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado. “We call on the Iraqi authorities to immediately open an investigation into the killing of Ahmed Abdul Samad and Safaa Ghali and to do their utmost to ensure journalists can cover the protests freely and without fear of reprisal.”

More than 500 protesters and security force members have been killed, according to the UN Special Envoy to Iraq, and at least 17,000 people have been injured.


Photos: AFP