Iraq .. Protesters continue escalation, and gunmen assassinate an activist in Basra

Protests continued in the Iraqi capital and a number of central and southern governorates to pressure the authorities to implement their demands, while a civilian activist was killed by an armed attack in the city center of Basra (south of the country).

Al-Jazeera correspondent said that protesters cut off Muhammad Qasim Highway in central Baghdad, and others closed a number of roads and bridges in eight governorates: Karbala, Najaf, Babil, Wasit, Dhi Qar, Al-Diwaniyah, Basra, and Maysan.

The demonstrators set fire to tires and cut main streets linking cities and sub-cities, which led to the suspension of work in governmental and educational institutions.

A security source revealed that there is traffic jams in many streets of Baghdad, in conjunction with the demonstrators cutting the road to Baghdad with Babil Province.

Activist assassination
In Basra (in the south of the country), civilian activist Jannat Mazi, 49, was killed by an armed attack in the city center.

A Basra police officer said the activist was killed by an attack by unidentified gunmen traveling in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, "adding that five other people were also wounded, including one of the activists, who was seriously wounded."

The attack occurred shortly before midnight on Wednesday, and a medical source in the forensic medicine department in Basra confirmed that "the body of the activist who died after being shot was received."

They - demonstrators and activists who provide medical services and first aid to the demonstrators - were attacked on their way back from the protest scene.

The incident comes after the killing of ten protesters during the past two days in Baghdad, according to the Iraqi Commission for Human Rights.

Violence in demonstrations across the country has killed about 460 people, most of them protesters, and wounded more than 25,000, according to official sources, while activists and human rights organizations speak of more than five hundred deaths.

The protesters are demanding a new political class, instead of officials who have monopolized power for nearly 17 years.

The Iraqi political parties are running marathon negotiations with the aim of naming the prime minister instead of the resigned, Adel Abdul Mahdi, without reaching an agreement until now.

Parliamentary failure
In this context, the Iraqi parliament failed today for the second time during this week to hold a regular session due to the lack of a full quorum to hold it.

Parliamentary sources added that the Presidency of the Parliament decided to convert the session to a deliberative session after 138 deputies attended, which is less than the quorum of 166 deputies.

The sources said that a number of deputies demanded the cancellation of the upcoming legislative holiday that begins on February 3, and the extension of Parliament’s work due to the unstable conditions the country is going through.