(Baghdad) A protester was killed Friday in Baghdad during clashes between security forces and supporters of pro-Iran groups protesting against the results of the legislative elections, marked by a decline in the political showcase of these factions.
More than 100 people were also injured in the bout of fever that occurred as political parties negotiate to form parliamentary coalitions on the basis of the preliminary results of the October 10 poll.
The Alliance of Conquest, the political showcase of Hachd al-Chaabi, an influential coalition of former paramilitaries, saw its number of seats melt at the end of the vote and denounce a “massive fraud”. The final election results are expected to be published within a few weeks.
After a lull in the early evening, clashes resumed late Friday on the outskirts of the Green Zone, an ultra-protected area housing government buildings and the American embassy.
A protester “was hit by gunfire and died in hospital,” said a security source who requested anonymity, without specifying where the shots came from.
A source within the Hezbollah Brigades, a member faction of Hachd, for its part claimed that “two demonstrators were killed”. On Telegram, some pro-Iran channels claimed that the police had fired “live ammunition” at the demonstrators.
In the afternoon, several hundred supporters of Hachd al-Chaabi first “blocked three of the four accesses to the Green Zone,” said the source within the security forces.
“Pushed back” by the police, they threw “stones and all kinds of objects” in the direction of the police, said the same source according to which the police “shot in the air” .
The Ministry of Health reported 125 injured, including 27 demonstrators and 98 members of the security forces, adding that “no deaths” were to be deplored.
PHOTO AHMED SAAD, REUTERS
The Green Zone notably houses the Prime Minister’s office, several ministries and the electoral commission.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi “ordered a full investigation into Friday’s events,” his office said. President Barham Saleh has called for “restraint”.
Calls for restraint
The UN mission in Iraq “deplored the escalation of violence” and also called on “all parties to exercise maximum restraint”.
According to the security source, the protesters were members of the Hezbollah Brigades and Assaïb Ahl al-Haq, another pro-Iran faction that is part of Hachd al-Chaabi.
The Hachd is a pro-Iran coalition of former paramilitaries integrated into the regular forces, one of the leitmotifs of which is the departure of American troops from Iraq.
Some Iraqis accuse them of being the relay of the great Iranian neighbor. Some have also pointed to them when after the popular uprising of October 2019, dozens of anti-power activists were victims of kidnappings, assassinations and attempted assassinations.
Several hundred Hachd supporters began a sit-in near the Green Zone just over two weeks ago to denounce the preliminary results of the legislative elections.
Again on Friday, some demonstrators waved banners on which could be read: “No to fraud! “And” Yes to the people! “.
Despite its rout, the Hachd will remain an important political force in Parliament, thanks to the game of alliances and the co-optation of independent elected representatives.
Still according to the preliminary results, the Sadrist current led by the influential Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr won first place in the legislative elections, with more than 70 seats out of the 329 in Parliament.
On Twitter, Moqtada Sadr wanted to be soothing about the clashes on Friday, rejecting “violence”, whether it comes from demonstrators or the police.