The clashes prompted authorities to close key streets and thoroughfares leading to the Iraqi capital’s centre
The violence is the latest since protests in Iraq reignited last week after a brief lull amid soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran following a U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad earlier this month.Anti-government protests have similarly resumed in Lebanon after a brief hiatus, entering a new, violent phase as anger against a worsening economic crisis and politicians’ inaction mounts.
A statement from the Baghdad Operations Command said fourteen officers were wounded by a group of rock-throwing “inciters of violence ” while trying to secure the entrance to Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protest movement. A security official said at least nine arrests have been made so far after the National Security Council authorized security forces to arrest demonstrators seen blocking main thoroughfares and roundabouts.
“Any steps taken so far to address the people’s concerns will remain hollow, if they are not completed,” said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement issued by the UN “Violent suppression of peaceful protesters is intolerable and must be avoided at all costs.”In the southern city of Nasiriyah, protesters blocked the highway linking the city to the southern oil-rich province of Basra.
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