Iraq: pro-Iran militias pointed out after murder of activist and journalist

Violence broke out at nightfall in Kerbala on Sunday, May 9, protesters set fire to tires in front of the Iranian consulate.

AFP - MOHAMMED SAWAF

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The assassination this weekend of a prominent activist in Kerbala, southern Iraq, sparked anger in the region.

Protests erupted in the holy city, as well as in Nassiriya and Diwaniya.

On the night of Sunday to Monday, a journalist was also the victim of an assassination attempt.

Protesters accuse pro-Iran militias of being behind these crimes and point to government inaction.

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With our correspondent in Iraq,

Lucile Wassermann

Ehab al-Ouazni was one of the leading figures in the anti-power protests in 2019. The shock wave after

his assassination

was therefore all the greater.

Immediately after the news of his death, protests erupted in his hometown, Kerbala, then spread to other towns in the south.

At nightfall, violence then broke out.

The demonstrators wanted to storm the Iranian consulate in Kerbala, setting fire to tires in front of the diplomatic building.

They accuse the pro-Tehran militias of being behind this campaign of assassinations, which has been targeting activists and journalists for more than a year.

34 activists killed since 2019

Evidence, they do not have it, but were waiting for the government to provide it, as promised.

As soon as he took office, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi pledged to shed light on these assassinations, but no one responsible has been found and brought to justice since. 

In total, 34 activists have been killed since 2019 out of 81 targeted, according to the Human Rights Commission.

A climate of impunity which worries a few months before the early elections in Iraq.

A country where political eliminations were rife in the past.

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  • Iraq

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