Iraq: the headquarters of a Kurdish party burned down in Baghdad

Supporters of Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of pro-Iran paramilitaries, set fire to the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

REUTERS / Thaier Al-Sudani

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The headquarters of a Kurdish party in Baghdad was torched on Saturday (October 18) by a crowd of supporters of Hachd al-Chaabi, a coalition of predominantly pro-Iran paramilitary groups.

The attack came after a member of this Kurdish party recently criticized these armed factions.

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With our correspondent in Baghdad,

It was still early Saturday in Iraq when large columns of black smoke rose into the sky over Baghdad, the capital.

Below, the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDK), one of the main Kurdish parties in Iraq, is on fire, set on fire by hundreds of demonstrators surrounding the building.

They wave the flags of Hachd al-Chaabi, this myriad of militias now integrated into the Iraqi state.

The supporters of this coalition then enter the building, ransack all the premises, then film themselves by burning a flag of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

►Also read: Iraq: the Hachd al-Chaabi militia, link in the Iranian chain in the region

No intervention by security forces

The attack is extremely violent.

And above all, it takes place without any intervention from the surrounding security forces.

So in an instant, the center of the Iraqi capital took on a chaotic air.

At the origin of this anger, criticisms, issued recently by one of the cadres of this Kurdish party against this paramilitary force called Hachd al-Chaabi. 

Immediately after the attack, the Kurdish authorities called on Baghdad to " 

 " and that same evening, Prime Minister

urgently convened the National Security Council.

" 

 " have taken place, he said, and an investigation has been opened, including to determine why the security forces failed in their mission that morning.

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• Iraq

• Kurds