SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United Nations on Tuesday condemned attacks on peaceful protesters in Iraq’s Dhi Qar province, where a protester was killed on Monday.
Dozens of protesters gathered in front of Dhi Qar governorate on Monday to demand the dismissal of governor Nazim al-Waeli over deterioration in public services.
Medical sources told AFP that a protester who was under 20 years was shot dead and 16 others including 12 members of the security forces were wounded.
The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq “strongly condemns the recent deadly violence in Dhi Qar,” UNAMI said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“We again call on the authorities to put an end to impunity: those responsible for this and earlier attacks must be brought to justice. Calm and peaceful resolution of differences are the only way forward,” it added.
Decades of war, government graft and slim investments have left Iraq’s water, electricity and other public works thoroughly lacking.
In late 2019, public frustration over poor services, unemployment and corruption morphed into an unprecedented anti-government movement across southern Iraq as well as the capital Baghdad.
Nearly 600 people have been killed in protest-related violence since then, including in mass violence at demonstrations but also in targeted assassinations of activists.
