At least 157 people were killed and over 5,000 were injured as a result of protests in the capital of Baghdad and several other Iraqi provinces in early October, Iraq's ministerial committee probing the unrest said on Tuesday
BAGHDAD (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2019) At least 157 people were killed and over 5,000 were injured as a result of protests in the capital of Baghdad and several other Iraqi provinces in early October, Iraq's ministerial committee probing the unrest said on Tuesday.In the beginning of October, a wave of anti-government rallies took place in Iraq, with the protesters demanding economic reforms, an end to corruption and the dismissal of the acting government. Over a hundred people were reported killed and seriously wounded as a result of the protests.
"[At least] 149 civilians and eight security men were killed during the clashes in Iraq, and other 5,494 people were wounded," the commission stated in a report.
According to the report, the use of military ammunition, the excessive use of force and "the weak command control" resulted in heavy casualties among the protesters. During the rallies, some demonstrators "burned security and government headquarters."
The report said that the authorities "didn't issue any official orders to shoot protesters."
The investigation committee recommended in the report to dismiss a number of senior officials from the Iraqi security agencies, including the police chiefs in the cities of Baghdad, Babil, Najaf, Maysan, Nasiriyah and Al Diwaniyah.
The report comes as measures that Iraqi President Barham Salih presented to the public on October 8 to meet the demands of demonstrators. The list included the judicial investigation into the causes of the violence and beginning a comprehensive political dialogue "to form a national parliamentary bloc to support reforms."
