Demonstrations continued in Baghdad and southern Iraq, despite the bloody attack on the demonstrators in Al-Khilani Square and Al-Senak Bridge, which killed 24 people and injured 120 others, while a new commander for Baghdad operations was assigned, and the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council announced the release of 2,626 detainees.

In detail, the protesters in Baghdad continued to gather in the symbolic liberation square, the main stronghold of the demonstrations, others spread at the nearby Al-Sink and Al-Ahrar bridges, and the demonstrators confirmed that the "Al-Sank massacre", as they called it, which occurred last Friday, represented a turning point in the path of the protest movement that was killed It has 452 people, and more than 20 thousand have been injured, so far, according to a census conducted by Agence France-Presse based on medical and security sources. Security forces imposed strict measures in Baghdad, and closed three main bridges at the demonstration sites, to prevent the demonstrators from reaching the Green Zone, where the government, the parliament and foreign embassies are located.

Protests continued in several southern cities, and most government departments and schools in Nasiriyah, Hilla, Diwaniyah, Kut, and Najaf were closed, and security forces in those cities tightened their procedures to avoid new attacks targeting protesters.

The demonstrators in Babil Governorate closed the municipal departments and the Shiite and Sunni Waqfs in the city of Hilla, the provincial center, as well as the Babylonian Education Directorate and the municipalities departments.

For its part, the United Nations called for more protection for peaceful demonstrators in Iraq, against the backdrop of the bloody attack in Baghdad. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Jenin Henness - Blackshart: “The deliberate killing of unarmed protesters by armed elements is not Only a brutal act against the people of Iraq. ”

"The identity of the perpetrators must be identified and brought to justice without delay," the UN official urged the Iraqi army "to spare no effort to protect peaceful demonstrators from violence by armed elements operating outside the control of the state."

In his turn, the Iraqi President, Barham Salih, affirmed in a statement, after receiving with silencers, yesterday, the right of citizens to demonstrate freely and freely, and the responsibility of the state’s competent authorities to work to protect peaceful demonstrators and preserve the general security of the state and the rights and property of citizens, and not to allow chaos and everything that could distort the character Peaceful demonstrations.

The Presidency of the Republic of Iraq said in the statement, that the meeting dealt with the current conditions the country is going through, and ways of solutions that can help protect the security and stability of Iraq and the aspirations of the people for reform, pointing out that «it was also emphasized that the horrific crime of Sinak that targeted the demonstrators, which Implemented by outlaw gangs, targeting in general the security and stability of the country, and in both cases it is necessary to intensify and strengthen security measures, arrest the perpetrators of the crime and refer them to a fair judiciary, and work carefully and carefully to prevent the repetition of this heinous criminal act.

Yesterday, the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq announced that the investigative bodies charged with examining the cases of demonstrations had released 2,626 detainees from peaceful protesters since the protests began last October and until now, adding that there are still 181 detainees being investigated for crimes attributed to them in accordance with the law.

In a related context, the Iraqi News Agency reported yesterday that General Abd al-Hussein al-Tamimi was assigned as commander of Baghdad operations, instead of Lieutenant-General Qais al-Muhammadawi, because of what it described as the "health status of the latter", and the security media cell announced the finding of tunnels for the terrorist organization "ISIS" and improvised explosive devices During the seventh "Will to Victory" operation.