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WORLD NEWS Monday 27 January 2020

Iraqi protesters defy top cleric and return to the streets

By SAMYA KULLAB ter security forces fired live lenged both Iran and the
BAGHDAD (AP) — One pro- rounds in nearby Wathba U.S.
tester was killed by secu- Square later in the evening. He also dropped his sup-
rity forces after hundreds of At least 28 demonstrators port for the anti-govern-
anti-government protesters were reported wounded ment movement on Friday,
flooded the streets of Iraq's by Iraqi security forces in a move that analysts said
capital and southern prov- the first hours of Sunday's was meant to buttress his
inces on Sunday, defying street rallies. political reputation during
a powerful Iraqi religious The mass protests started in a time of national turmoil.
leader who recently with- October over widespread But by Sunday morning, it
drew his support from the government corruption had the opposite effect as
popular movement. and a lack of public ser- protesters pushed back.
Separately, five Katyusha vices and jobs. They quickly Hundreds of protesters,
rockets crashed into a riv- grew into calls for sweeping mostly students, marched Anti-government protesters run as security forces fire tear gas to
erbank near the U.S. Em- changes to Iraq's political Sunday through key disperse them during a clashe in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Jan.
bassy in Baghdad's heavily system that was imposed squares in the capital and 26, 2020.
fortified Green Zone with- after the 2003 U.S. invasion. southern Iraq to show their Associated Press
out causing any injuries or Iraqi security forces have continued support for the
serious damages, a state- responded harshly. At least anti-government move- swooped in to clear areas happen tomorrow. There
ment from U.S. Joint Op- 500 protesters have been ment, despite al-Sadr's re- of demonstrators and torch will be more attacks — we
erations Command said. killed since the unrest be- versal of position. their sit-in tents. At least four expect that."
One rocket landed inside gan. "The demonstrations have protesters were killed in the With al-Sadr out of the pic-
the embassy walls, an Iraqi Iraq also has been roiled become stronger now be- crackdown, officials told ture, protesters said the
security official said. The of- by U.S.-Iran tensions that cause of what happened," The Associated Press. only top leader on their side
ficial spoke on condition of threatened a regional war said Zaidoun, 26, a protest The Iraqi High Commission was Grand Ayatollah Ali al-
anonymity in line with regu- after an American drone organizer in Baghdad. for Human Rights said 12 Sistani, Iraq's most revered
lations. strike this month killed top Many demonstrators protesters had been killed Shiite cleric. Many said they
It is the third such attack this Iranian Gen. Qassem Solei- chanted slogans against in the last 48 hours, with nine were hoping his weekly Fri-
month and the perpetra- mani near Baghdad. the populist preacher. The of those in Baghdad, and a day sermon would boost
tors were not immediately The U.S. attack pushed the movement opposes Iraq's startling 230 wounded. morale ahead of a major
known. Shiite cleric and political sectarian system and both By Saturday evening how- planned protest for Jan. 31.
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, U.S. and Iranian influence in ever, and into Sunday, In a statement posted on-
Abdul-Mahdi condemned to turn his influence toward Iraqi affairs. crowds of protesters were line, al-Sadr called on the
the rocket attack that tar- demanding an American Some protesters were wor- returning to Tahrir Square, protesters to return their
geted the U.S. Embassy. In troop withdrawal and hold- ried, however, that the following calls by anti-gov- movement to its "initial
a statement, he asserted ing an anti-U.S. rally. departure of al-Sadr's sup- ernment activists. course," in what many anti-
Iraq's commitment to "pro- Analysts said al-Sadr, who porters and his militia mem- "In the beginning, when he government activists inter-
tecting all diplomatic mis- often mobilizes his followers bers from Baghdad's Tah- (al-Sadr) called his followers preted as a veiled threat.
sions." on the street to buttress his rir Square, the hub of the to leave we were shocked," The statement added that
Security forces fired tear political influence, was us- protest movement, could said Noor, a protest orga- al-Sadr could boost his sup-
gas and live rounds to dis- ing the anti-U.S. protest he spark a renewed security nizer who gave only her first port for the "heroic" secu-
perse the crowds from the staged as leverage in po- crackdown. Al-Sadr's fol- name for security reasons. rity forces if protesters didn't
capital's Khilani Square, litical negotiations among lowers had been giving "But by the evening on Sat- heed his calls.
medical and security of- Iraq's elites to select the protesters protective cover. urday, we breathed a sigh Al-Sadr had called on his
ficials said. The officials next premier. On Saturday, hours after al- of relief." followers to stage a rival
spoke on condition of ano- Al-Sadr has long been an Sadr's supporters left protest The future for the popular protest targeting the U.S.
nymity in line with regula- unpredictable maverick in sites in Baghdad and some movement, she was quick Embassy on Sunday, before
tions. One protester was Iraqi politics, and is the only southern cities, includ- to add, was still uncertain. rescinding the order shortly
killed and six wounded af- Shiite leader who has chal- ing Basra, security forces "No one knows what will after.q