Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 28 November 2019
Officials: Iraq protesters burn down Iran consulate in Najaf

Associated Press said. One protester died of
BAGHDAD (AP) — Anti-gov- wounds suffered when a
ernment protesters burned tear gas canister struck him
down an Iranian consulate in clashes earlier in the day.
building in southern Iraq on Protesters have largely kept
Wednesday, while six pro- away from threatening
testers were killed by se- Iraq's economy, but in the
curity forces who fired live southern city of Basra daily
rounds amid ongoing vio- closures of the two main
lence in the country, Iraqi Gulf commodities port has
officials said Wednesday. caused disruptions to trade
Protesters torched the con- activity, a port official said.
sulate in the holy city of Na- Protesters continued to cut
jaf in the evening. One pro- major roads to Umm Qasr
tester was killed and at least and Khor al-Zubair ports
35 people were wounded on Wednesday, reducing
when police fired live am- trade activity by 50%, ac-
munition to prevent them cording to the port official
from entering the building, who spoke on condition of
a police official said. anonymity because they
The demonstrators re- were not authorized to
moved the Iranian flag from speak to reporters.
the building and replaced Anti-government protesters gather near barriers set up by security forces to close Rasheed Street Protesters also blocked
it with an Iraqi one. Iranian during clashes in Baghdad, Iraq, roads leading to major oil
staff were not harmed and Associated Press fields in West Qurna and
escaped the building from Rumaila. A senior oil ministry
the back door and authori- tacked the Iranian consul- sheed Street, security and Bridge to block security official said crude produc-
ties imposed a curfew in ate in Karbala earlier this hospital officials said. forces from accessing the tion was not impacted by
Najaf. The official spoke on month, scaling concrete The street, which is adja- area. the closures.
condition of anonymity in barriers running the build- cent to the strategic Ahrar The burning of the Iranian Three simultaneous explo-
line with regulations. ing. Bridge, has been the focus consulate followed tense sions rocked Baghdad late
The incident marked an Security forces have fired of violence for a full week, days in southern Iraq, where Tuesday, killing five people
escalation in the demon- bullets, tear gas and smoke with near daily incidents protesters have burned tires and wounding more than
strations that have raged bombs on a near daily ba- of deaths as a result of se- and cut access to main a dozen, Iraqi officials said,
in Baghdad and across the sis since the unrest began. curity forces using live am- roads in several provinces. in the first apparent coor-
mostly Shiite southern Iraq At least 350 people have munition and tear gas to In Karbala, four protesters dinated attack since anti-
since Oct. 1. The protesters been killed and thousands keep demonstrators from were killed by live fire from government protests erupt-
accuse the Shiite-led gov- wounded in what has be- advancing beyond a con- security forces in the previ- ed. The bombings took
ernment of being hope- come the largest grassroots crete barrier. ous 24 hours. place far from Baghdad's
lessly corrupt and complain protest movement in Iraq's Protesters are occupying Three of the anti-govern- Tahrir Square, the epicen-
of poor public services and modern history. three key bridges in cen- ment protesters were killed ter of weeks of anti-gov-
high unemployment. They Two protesters were killed tral Baghdad - Jumhuri- when security forces fired ernment protests that have
are also decrying growing and 35 wounded when ya, Ahrar and Sinar - in a live rounds to disperse posed the biggest security
Iranian influence in Iraqi security forces fired live standoff with security forc- crowds in the holy city of challenge to Iraq since the
state affairs. rounds to disperse them es. On Wednesday, they Karbala late Tuesday, se- defeat of the Islamic State
Protesters previously at- from Baghdad's historic Ra- also burned tires on Ahrar curity and medical officials group.q

Assad: IS members in Syrian Kurds jails to stand local trial

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Iraqis, including some 2,000 foreigners, have been sen-
Syrian President Bashar foreigners. tenced to death. Some
Assad said in remarks pub- Abandoned by their U.S. human rights groups have
lished Wednesday that allies, the Kurds turned to expressed concern about
members of the Islamic Assad and Russia for pro- government troops taking
State group held in the tection and over the past over IS detention centers
country will stand trial in lo- weeks Syrian and Russian currently run by the U.S.-
cal courts specialized in ter- forces have moved into ar- allied Kurds. Assad said:
rorism cases. eas once held by Kurds. "Every terrorist in the areas
Assad made his comments Syrian authorities are hold- controlled by the Syrian
in an interview with Paris ing hundreds of IS members state will be subject to Syr-
Match when asked about who were captured in bat- ian law and Syrian law is
a deal with a Kurdish-led tles between government clear concerning terrorism.
force that would eventu- forces and the extremists We have courts specialized
ally bring their areas under over the past years in dif- in terrorism and they will be
government control. The ferent parts of the country. prosecuted." He did not
Kurdish-led Syrian Demo- No public announcements elaborate. Most European
cratic Forces, who defeat- have been made about countries are refusing to
In this Feb. 10, 2015, file photo released by the Syrian official ed IS in March with the help any of them being put on take back their citizens and
news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad gestures
during an interview in Damascus, Syria. of the U.S.-led coalition, are trial, unlike in neighboring a number of French IS pris-
Associated Press holding more than 10,000 Iraq where thousands of IS oners received death sen-
militants, mostly Syrians and members, many of them tences in trials in Iraq.q