BAGHDAD, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 100 people have died and more than 5,500 injured since anti-government demonstrations resumed in Iraq on Oct 24, a national rights commission said.
The Iraqi Human Rights Commission said a majority of the dead were civilians suffocated by tear gas, or who sustained trauma wounds from tear gas canisters or were shot dead.
It could not immediately provide a breakdown of where and when the victims had died.
The rallies began on Oct 1 and were suspended in mid-October for pilgrimage before resuming last Friday.
During the first wave of protests, 149 people were killed and around 3,500 people sustained injuries. Demonstrators have said that they were attacked by security forces including those who used live ammunition.
According to the commission’s earlier data, 74 people were killed and more than 3,600 others were wounded in the ongoing unrest.
“Violence as a result of clashes against security forces … and demonstrators with the use of excessive power, tear gas, batons and stones over the recent days led to 100 people killed and 5,500 demonstrators and security forces [members] injured”, the commission wrote on Facebook late on Wednesday.
The statement noted that it included the data for Oct 25-30.
Ali al-Bayati, a member of the IHCHR, said that on Wednesday, one protester was killed and dozens of others were wounded in Baghdad as they attempted to cross the bridge leading to the so-called Green Zone where government offices and foreign missions were located.
The area has been a scene for the ongoing unrest in the Iraqi capital. Media reported late on Wednesday that a projectile had struck in the vicinity of the US Embassy in the Green Zone, leaving one Iraqi serviceman dead.
The demonstrators call on the government to resign and demand economic reforms and fighting against corruption.
As the protests resumed last Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said that he would carry out a cabinet reshuffle and introduce changes to election laws.
Mahdi said that the government’s resignation, demanded by protesters, would throw the country in chaos. — NNN-AGENCIES
