Mob kills, hangs alleged 'sniper' in Baghdad’s Wathba Square

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Protesters are said to have killed and hanged an individual who was believed to be shooting protesters in Wathba Square in  Baghdad on Thursday.

Several videos and photos circulating on Iraqi social media channels show protesters dragging a body and hanging from a traffic light pole. Hundreds of protesters can be seen filming the event.

A masked protester in Wathba Square told Rudaw that the man executed reportedly killed dozens of protesters throughout the night.

“We killed this guy because he killed 12 protesters since midnight,” the masked protester said.

According to the protester, the individual who was hanged was shooting at protesters from the rooftop of his house in the square.

“We killed and hanged this guy to be a lesson to everyone who aims to kill the protesters,” the masked protester added.

Protesters of Tahrir Square, a group of demonstrators, released a statement on the messaging app Telegram condemning the incident.

“What happened today in Wathba Square in Baghdad is a terror crime, same as killing the peaceful protesters. We as peaceful protesters who fight for reforms and empowering the justice and implementation of law in the country refuse such a crime,” the statement read.

A protester who has been in contact with Rudaw for the duration of the protests told Rudaw he doubts the protesters would carry out such an act.

“I’m sad for what happened in Wathba Square today,” Hussein said. “We have been in the streets peacefully protesting against the government since October, and we never did such a crime," he told Rudaw English on Thursday afternoon.

Staff General Abdulkareem Khalaf, spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, told state media channel Al Iraqiya in a statement: “The victim was no older than 17 years, and he has been, for five days, asking protesters who had gathered in front of his house to go away from his home, but they rejected that. He entered into a verbal altercation that soon turned into fighting and verbal altercation.

“Later, some individuals started throwing Molotovs at his house, and he had a pistol. He shot some bullets overhead, and then they broke into his house, killed him, dragged him, and then hung him on one of the polls,” Khalaf said.

“Measures to investigate the circumstances of the incident and pursuing the perpetrators were undertaken, including the extraction of the corpse. The case has been put before the investigative judge, and the Bab al-Shaykh Police Station has been tasked with opening an investigation into the incident,” he said.

“The security forces have all the incriminating evidence and witnesses and the faces of the perpetrators of the crime are very clear and it is easy to pursue them. None of the criminals will escape,” Khalaf added.

The killing has generated response from prominent officials, including heads of militia groups.

Qais al-Khazali, Secretary General of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a faction of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic, took to Twitter to denounce the free movement of “dirty militias”. 

“For how long will the lawlessness continue, the weakening of security forces, the spread of weapons and dirty militias?” he tweeted with a photo of the corpse.

The PMF, however, have been accused of being behind the deaths of protesters across the country.

In a report released on Thursday, The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) reported that PMF-affiliated militias have used live ammunition in Najaf province, killing at least 27 protesters.

“Between 27 and 30 November, ‘militias’ reported as affiliated to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) allegedly shot dead 27 demonstrators in Najaf,” the report added.

“What made me disappointed and sad is to see Muqtada al-Sadr tweets that the blue hats will be withdrawn in 48 hours, if the perpetrators  of Wathba Square are not detained,” Hussein concluded.

The “Blue Hats” are Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam militia members, unarmed among the protesters, deployed during the second wave of protests Sadr to protect the protesters from armed groups.

Protesters first took to the streets of southern and central Iraq on  October 1 to demand action on corruption, high unemployment, and the  lack of public services.

Following a pause during the Shiite religious observance of Arbaeen, the protests resumed with fresh demands for a new governing system and  the resignation of the president, prime minister, and parliamentary  speaker.

More than 420 protesters and members of the security forces have been  killed since October 1 and at least 16,000 wounded.

The protesters also want Iraq to abandon its parliamentary model and  adopt a strong executive presidency.