Iraq Daily Roundup: 12 Killed in Ongoing Protests

The government of the Netherlands admitted on Monday that a 2015 airstrike by a Dutch fighter in Hawija killed 70 people, including civilians.

Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi released a statement on Sunday calling on protesters to end their demonstrations as, he claims, most of their demands have been met. Nevertheless, across the country on Sunday, the start of the workweek, demonstrators blocked streets, conducted school sit-ins, and forced government offices shut. The government has responded by curtailing Internet access again.

At least 12 people were killed, and 87 were injured:

Protesters in the holy city of Karbala stormed the campus containing the Iranian consulate on Sunday, replacing the Iranian flag with an Iraqi one before being repulsed. Four people were killed. Seven security personnel and 12 others were wounded. Many, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani are critical of Iranian interference in Iraq affairs. In nearby Najaf, demonstrators erased the name of former leader.

In Baghdad, security forces killed five protesters; 34 others were wounded at Ahrar Bridge. Special Forces troops guarding the Green Zone killed two and wounded 22 more; a policeman was among the dead. Activist Saba Mahdawi was kidnapped after providing medical aid to protesters.

Security forces killed a demonstrator and wounded 10 more in Shatra, near Nasariya, where government buildings remain shut.

Thousands again gathered in Diwaniya.

In Samawa and Hilla, roads have been blocked.

Sit-ins at the Halfaya and Buzurgan oil fields near Amara have curtailed movement in and out of the fields but production has not ceased.

In other violence:

Two Yazidi militiamen were wounded when Turkish airstrikes pounded their location near Snuny. The Yezidi Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) are affiliated with the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (P.K.K.)

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.