Amid criticism of rights .. Dead protests in Iraq, authorities accuse "deviant sides"

A spokesman for the commander of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf said that the parties described as perverted opened fire on demonstrators and security men in Basra; killing and wounding a number of parties.

While the state-run al-Iraqiya television quoted Khalaf as saying that the leader of these groups had been arrested, Human Rights Watch says security forces have fired tear gas canisters directly at the demonstrators' heads, killing 16 people since October 25. .

Continuous protests
This comes, while protests continue to demand political and economic reform in Iraq for the third week, where the death toll in the city of Basra (southern Iraq) to seven people, and wounded 160 others; by gunfire in front of the provincial council building, while four others were killed Downtown Baghdad.

Tahrir Square (the center of the capital) and other demonstration squares since Thursday night and Friday morning saw popular overcrowding as a weekly tradition of the gathering on Friday.

In Baghdad, the number of people killed by live bullets rose to about six after security forces used live ammunition against demonstrators near the Martyrs Bridge (central Baghdad).

Earlier, Reuters quoted security and medical sources as saying that four protesters were killed in the center of the capital and wounded dozens, in clashes near the Martyrs Bridge as they tried to cross.

The Baghdad Operations Command told Al Jazeera that arrest warrants had been issued for the force, which ordered the shooting of demonstrators near the Martyrs Bridge. Security forces managed to open the bridge after demonstrators closed it.

In Basra, security forces intensified their presence in the streets, and closed all roads leading to the city center, after the bloody events witnessed yesterday after a security force tried to end a sit-in carried out by dozens who had set up tents in front of the governorate building, and opened fire on them after the attempt to disperse them failed.

In Karbala, sources said that security forces burned the protesters' tents in front of the governorate building (downtown), to force the demonstrators to disperse and end their sit-in, which has been going on for more than a week.

Sistani's speech
In the meantime, the Supreme Leader of the Shiite Ali al-Sistani said that maintaining the peaceful protests is of great importance, and that "the greatest responsibility rests with the security forces to avoid the use of violence."

Sistani urged the government in the Friday sermon in the city of Karbala to respond to the demands of the protesters as soon as, also warned of the presence of "parties and internal and external parties may today seek to exploit the ongoing protest movement to achieve some of its objectives."

He added that the political forces in power have a unique opportunity to respond to the demands of the citizens according to an agreed roadmap, which will be implemented within a specified period of time, putting an end to a long era of corruption, abhorrent quotas and the absence of social justice. "There is a big risk surrounding the country."

Charges
This comes at a time when Human Rights Watch, a human rights organization, accused Iraqi security forces of firing tear gas canisters directly at the demonstrators' heads.

Security forces have fired tear gas canisters directly at demonstrators in Baghdad on several occasions since demonstrations resumed on October 25, 2019, killing at least 16 people, Amnesty said in a report published on Friday. More than a hundred people since the start of anti-government protests.

"The high death toll includes people with tear gas canisters directly in their heads," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The number indicates a grotesque pattern, and it's not isolated incidents."

The organization noted that it showed video clips in Baghdad to a specialist analyst "confirmed that the security forces were pointing gas bombs directly to the demonstrators instead of firing into the air."

Security forces in Baghdad continue to use tear gas and sometimes live bullets with heavy bullets, as well as sound bombs that rock the capital until late at night.

Amnesty said the tear gas used by Iraqi forces was 10 times the weight of the commonly used devices, made in Bulgaria, Serbia and Iran.