Iraqi Forces deploy in Nasiriya
Shafaq News / the Iraqi security forces in Dhi Qar governorate closed the center of the city of Nasiriya where the supporters of the Sadrist movement are joining the Friday prayers.
The Shafaq News Agency correspondent said the security forces have deployed in the center of the city of Nasiriya to avoid any engaging in direct confrontation.
Yesterday Thursday, the Sadrist movement, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, called on its supporters from different districts to join a unified prayer in Nasiriya, the center of Dhi Qar governorate.
Last Friday, Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr stormed an anti-government protest camp in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya, and at least three people were killed and dozens wounded in the clashes.
Followers of Sadr carrying pictures of the cleric marched to the central al-Haboubi square, where anti-government protesters have held a sit-in since 2019, after Friday prayers.
Eyewitnesses said they fired gunshots and threw petrol bombs at the protesters’ tents, leading the protesters to fight back.
Iraq’s biggest anti-government protests in decades broke out in October 2019 and continued for several months, with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis demanding jobs, services and the removal of the ruling elite, which they said was corrupt. Nearly 500 people were killed. The protests caused the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who took office in May, has pledged to hold a parliamentary election, in line with a demand of many pro-democracy activists.
