By Pooya Stone
Reuters news agency in Iraq reported 28 November that Iraqi forces killed 14 demonstrators after they burned the Iranian consulate building.
The burning of the Iranian consulate was among the strongest anti-Iranian sentiments ever seen by Iraqi demonstrators.
Videos showed crowds outside the consulate shouting “Out, out Iran!” and waving Iraqi flags as the building burned. The Iranian regime’s consulates staff in Najaf managed to escape out the back door before the building was set on fire.
Medical sources said Iraqi security forces killed 25 demonstrators in the town of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, and city officials imposed a ban on traffic after the Iranian consulate in Najaf was set on fire.
Security forces in Nasiriyah opened fire on demonstrators who had gathered at a bridge in Nasiriya before dawn, killing 25 people and injuring dozens.
Also, about 50 protesters were injured during Thursday’s clashes in Nasiriyah. Some of these injuries have now been reported serious.
After several weeks of mass demonstrations in Iraq, the burning of the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Najaf has intensified the violence.
“The burning of the Iranian consulate on Wednesday night was a brave reaction by the Iraqi people. We do not want the Iranians,” said Iraqi demonstrator Ali in Najaf.
Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qar province, is Iraq’s fourth-largest city. Security forces had imposed a curfew in Nasiriyah.
More than 350 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces since protests erupted in Iraq on 1 October. About 15,000 people were injured in the clashes. A demonstration in Samawah city was dispersed with live bullets on Thursday.
Security forces fired live bullets to disperse a protest in downtown Samawah, the center of Muthanna province.
On the other hand, the tribes of al-Bedour and al-Ghazi took control of Fahd Bridge linking Nasiriyah and Baghdad.
