Iraqi PM orders probe into protest deaths amid election dispute

An investigation has begun into
the deaths and injuries of demonstrators and security forces
after clashes in Baghdad.

Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi on Friday ordered the formation of a
committee to investigate following clashes between Iraqi
security forces and supporters of parties disputing the
results of a general election in October, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported, citing Iraq’s Joint Operations Command..

A Joint Operations Command statement did not mention the
number of deaths and injuries.

The statement added that “the negligent will be brought to
legal accountability for their negligence and violation of the
explicit orders of the commander in chief, which stressed that
live bullets should not be fired under any circumstances,” INA
reported.

Al Kadhimi also ordered compensation for victims of the
clashes and decided to personally supervise the progress of the
investigation, INA said.

It was the first significant violent clash between
government forces and supporters of the political parties, most
of which have armed wings and are aligned with Iran, since those
groups lost dozens of parliament seats after the October 10 vote.

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Protests over election results

Police fired tear gas and live ammunition into the air as scores of the protesters threw stones and tried to advance towards Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, the security sources said.

“There were 125 people injured, 27 of them civilians and the rest from the security forces,” the health ministry said.

The parties that made the biggest gains in Iraq’s October election include that of populist Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al Sadr, who publicly opposes Iranian interference in Iraqi politics and has called for all remaining Western troops to withdraw from the country.

The Iran-backed groups disputing the election result are also Shia but follow an Iranian model of theocratic governance which the nationalist Sadr and many ordinary Iraqi Shias reject.

As per al Kadhimi’s orders, the investigation committee will include the security of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a state-sanctioned umbrella organisation of mostly Shia militias backed by Iran, INA said.

Iraq’s majority Shias have dominated government since the US-led overthrow of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. Sunnis and Iraqi Kurds, the next biggest religious and ethnic groups in Iraq, lead significant alliances in parliament.

The election result was seen as a rejection by voters of foreign influence, especially that of Iran.

The parties disputing the result say there were irregularities in the voting process and vote counting, but have not provided compelling evidence for their claims.

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