At least 36 protesters killed on a blood Thursday in Iraq

• Sacred city: Protesters set fire to the Iranian consulate in Najaf city in full escalation of protests
• Blockade: Protests in Iraq raise the tone and impose the blockade in Baghdad
• Crisis: Iraq post-Saddam wobbles: 42 dead and more than 2000 wounded in a new day of protests

The bloodbath has happened early Thursday. Security forces have opened fire on protesters gathered at one of the bridges in the city of Nasiriyah, 370 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. The agents executed a brutal repression that, in a matter of four hours, claimed the lives of 29 people and left more than 230 injured, making the day one of the bloodiest of the protests that started in early October in the capital and the main cities of southern Iraq.

"The situation in the southern cities is very hot. There are open confrontations between the protesters and the security apparatus. There is a direct call from all the forces and factions to the confrontation," Tahsin el Zergani, a resident journalist , tells EL MUNDO in some Shia-majority provinces that have embraced the uprising against the elite that has ruled the country since the decline of Saddam Hussein.

The episode of violence in Nasiriyah has begun hours after a crowd set fire to the Iranian consulate of the also southern Najaf in protest against Tehran's interference in the political life of the country. At three o'clock in the morning, several law enforcement agencies have inaugurated police charges with real ammunition and tear gas against demonstrators who had barricaded in city districts near the Al Nasr and Al Zaitun bridges.

"They opened fire without truce. They regained control of the bridge in five minutes, because they didn't stop shooting and people ran. I saw five people die in front of me. We left the dead and wounded because the agents beat anyone who tried to help them. I saw them hit people as if they wanted to kill them. It was a catastrophe, "a survivor of the massacre told Amnesty International.

The crowd has tried to take shelter in nearby homes, but the security forces, through megaphones, have threatened to open fire on the buildings and the last protesters have continued to flee to Habbubi Square, the local zero kilometer of the popular outrage.

"I felt that the entire city was there to protect the protesters. There were men, women and children. The shooting continued until seven in the morning and there were more deaths," the witness slipped. The videos spread through social networks have confirmed the story of those who have been able to get around the bullets.

"The scenes that arrive from Nasiriyah are more typical of a war zone than of the streets of a city. This brutal onslaught is only the last of a long series of deadly incidents in which security forces used wild violence against protesters. peaceful, "denounces Lynn Maalouf, director of research at Amnesty International in the Middle East.

The Iraqi authorities have sent troops with the aim of "restoring order" and established crisis cells made up of civil governors and military leaders. There are four demonstrators who died in Baghdad and three in Najaf to the balance of victims in Nasiriyah , in the skirmishes that followed the fire that the Iranian diplomatic legation devoured.

The Prime Minister, Shia Adel Abdel Mahdi, has ordered the resignation of Lieutenant General Jamil al Shammari just one day after he was appointed military commander to administer the wave of protests in the province of Dhi Qar, whose capital is Nasiriyah. The governor demanded the 'premier' the withdrawal of military leaders after blaming them for the tragedy and for having perpetrated an "unacceptable use of force" against the crowd. The main tribes of the province began blocking the main road demanding the withdrawal of security forces and threatening to take up arms to protect the demonstrations.

The unusual chain of protests shaking Iraq since October 1 is fueled by allegations of corruption, lack of public services and unemployment, especially dramatic among the younger population. Their demands have been embraced by the country's main religious leaders, including Ali al Sistani, the country's top Shiite religious authority, but they face the rejection of the rebuffed Shiite militias backed by Tehran. "We will cut off the hands of anyone who tries to approach Al Sistani," warned Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, commander of "Hashid Shaabi," the constellation of Shiite militias integrated into the security apparatus.

"The situation is very serious, especially in the south. Nasiriyah seems to be in open insurrection," Iraqi analyst Fanar Haddad from Baghdad alerts this newspaper. "The burning of the Iranian consulate in Najaf, headquarters of the Shiite leadership, has great symbolic importance but, without an escalation in the size and scope of the protests, the political order will survive this crisis," predicts the political scientist.

The Cabinet, harassed by popular anger for two months, has so far managed to circumvent its fall, relatively comfortable in the paralysis that dominates the public scene. The repression has resulted, to date, with more than 360 dead and 15,000 injured. In his umpteenth call to turn the page, Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr urged Thursday to immediately cease the Executive to "avoid the beginning of the end of Iraq."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Iraq

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