Iraqi medical sources said that six people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the city of Najaf (south of Baghdad), during confrontations with armed groups affiliated with the Sadrist movement calling itself "blue hats" while trying to enter the sit-in square in the city.
The sources added that the situation developed into confrontations in which live bullets and Molotov cocktails were used, which led to the burning of a number of tents set up by the protesters months ago.
The sources said that the blue hats groups managed to completely control the protest square, after the protesters were expelled from it.
In a statement to Anadolu Agency, a source in the Najaf Health Department, who asked not to be named, said that Al-Sadr and Al-Hakim Hospitals in the city of Najaf recorded the killing of six protesters as a result of being hit by live bullets and white weapons.
He added that 41 others were wounded by live bullets, stabbed with white weapons and severely beaten with batons, which resulted in injuries.
Witnesses reported from the demonstrators that the dead and wounded were killed by supporters of al-Sadr known as "the blue hats" in Sadrin Square, the stronghold of the protesters of Najaf.
Witnesses explained that masked men, mostly Sadr supporters, set fire to the tents of the protesters, before the blue caps owners attacked the protesters with live bullets, white weapons and batons.
These developments come after the protesters refused to assign former Minister of Communications Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, on Saturday, to form the next government, while he has the support of Sadr movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
The protesters are demanding an independent prime minister who has not previously held senior positions, and far from party dependency.
Iraq has been witnessing unprecedented protests since the beginning of October 2019, interspersed with violence that left more than 600 people dead, according to Iraqi President Barham Saleh.