Kurdistan Region president condemns targeting of Iraqi demonstrators

Mustafa Shilani 2021/05/11 16:25

Mourners chant slogans as they march in a funerary procession for renowned Iraqi activist Ihab al-Wazni in the Iraqi city of Karbala, May 9, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

Iraq Iraq Karbala Protest Baghdad Demonstrations

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The president of the autonomous Kurdistan Region expressed concern on Tuesday about the repeated targeting of activists and demonstrators in Karbala and other Iraqi cities in central and southern provinces.

President Nechirvan Barzani wrote in a tweet that he was following "with great concern the continued threats against Iraqi demonstrators and the repeated targeting and assault on them."

He added, "We strongly condemn these acts, which increase the pace of unrest and complications in the country," stressing that "the perpetrators must be brought to justice."

Barzani's tweet comes following the killing of Ihab al-Wazni, a well-known protest leader in Karbala, at dawn on Sunday by gunmen riding a motorcycle past his home.

In response, angry Iraqis poured onto the streets of Karbala on Sunday.

Unidentified gunmen also reportedly injured a correspondent for the Dijla news channel named Ahmed Hassan in Diwaniyah province.

These actions fueled the protesters in the street and prompted many of the forces supporting the protest movement to boycott the upcoming legislative elections scheduled to be held in October.

Editing by John J. Catherine