SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Tuesday an investigation would be launched into the incidents took place during protests in Baghdad, which led to the death of two protesters.
Hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated in Tahrir Square on Tuesday, shouting slogans against Iran-backed militias and accusing the government of failing to answer for the deaths of dozens of activists shot dead in different parts of Iraq in recent months.
Two people died and 150 others including members of the security forces were injured after Iraqi forces fired live rounds in the air to disperse the protesters.
“We supported the freedom of peaceful protest in Iraq,” Kadhimi said in a tweet. “We issued strict orders to protect demonstrators and to forbid the use of live bullets.”
“We will open a transparent investigation into the truth about what happened in the last moments of the Tahrir Square protests to uncover the circumstances,” he added.
“Security is everyone’s responsibility, and we must share in preserving it.”
Iraqi President Barham Salih also called for accountability, saying “the protection security and public property is a national duty. Peaceful protests are a constitutional right”.
Tuesday’s clashes erupted after protesters started throwing bricks towards security forces, according to Reuters.
When nationwide protests erupted in 2019, hundreds of mostly unarmed demonstrators were killed and Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was forced to resign.
He was replaced by Kadhimi, who pledged to investigate activists’ deaths but also imprisoned hundreds of demonstrators.
The government has vowed to crack down on what it says are criminal armed groups trying to destabilize the country, and to impose state control over weapons as part of efforts to reduce the influence of militias.
UNAMI said in a tweet on Tuesday that only accountability would halt the attacks against Iraqi civic and political activists.
“While the perpetrators may think they have silenced voices, they have only amplified them. Accountability is key for Iraq’s stability. The Iraqi people have a right to know,” it tweeted.
