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A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 11 noveMber 2019
Rights group calls Iraqi crackdown on protests a 'bloodbath'

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA as to gather and express
BAGHDAD (AP) — Amnesty their views. This bloodbath
International said Sunday must stop now, and those
that Iraq's crackdown on responsible for it must be
anti-government protests brought to justice," said
has descended into a Heba Morayef, Amnesty
"bloodbath." International's Middle East
At least 319 protesters have and North Africa Director.
been killed so far by secu- "All government promises
rity forces since the unrest of reforms or investigations
began last month, accord- ring hollow while security
ing to the latest figures from forces continue to shoot
the Iraqi Human Rights and kill protesters," she said.
Commission released Sun- The protesters' most imme-
day. diate demand is for the res-
Iraqi security forces put up ignation of Prime Minister
concrete barriers in cen- Adel Abdul-Mahdi's gov-
tral Baghdad in an effort ernment. He's held the post
to hamper and block the for just over a year, and is
protesters' movements. refusing to step down.
The measures come after On Sunday, security forces
security forces on Monday An anti-government protester is surrounded by tear gas fired by Iraqi security forces in an effort to closed roads near the Kh-
violently cleared demon- disperse demonstrators, in central Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. ilani Square with one-meter
strators from three flash- Associated Press high concrete barriers, try-
point bridges in central ing to block protesters from
Baghdad. By the end of the the streets of Baghdad and targeting Iraq's entire po- the Iraqi Human Rights reaching Baghdad's land-
day, six anti-government the mainly Shiite south's cit- litical class and calling for Commission said. mark Tahrir Square, the epi-
protesters were killed more ies for weeks. Authorities the overhaul of the sectar- Amnesty International said center of the protests, and
than 100 wounded. shut down internet access ian system established after Iraqi authorities should im- the Sanak bridge.
The widening security and blocked social media the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. mediately rein in security At least 19 protesters were
crackdown reflects gov- sites several times amid the Security forces have used forces. wounded when security
ernment intransigence and demonstrations. live ammunition, rubber "The government of Iraq forces used tear gas to re-
narrowing options for pro- The leaderless, economi- bullets and tear gas in an has a duty to protect its pel them, according to po-
testers who have been on cally driven protests are effort to quell the protests, people's right to life, as well lice and hospital sources.q

Iran discovers new oil field with over 50 billion barrels

By AMIR VAHDAT come Iran's second-largest
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran field after one containing
has discovered a new oil 65 billion barrels in Ahvaz.
field in the country's south The field is 2,400 square ki-
with over 50 billion bar- lometers (925 square miles),
rels of crude, its president with the deposit some 80
said Sunday, a find that meters (260 feet) deep,
could boost the country's Rouhani said.
proven reserves by a third Since the U.S. withdrew from
as it struggles to sell energy the 2015 nuclear deal, the
abroad over U.S. sanctions. other countries involved —
The announcement by Germany, France, Britain,
Hassan Rouhani comes as Russia and China — have
Iran faces crushing Ameri- been struggling to save it.
can sanctions after the U.S. However, they've offered
pulled out of its nuclear no means by which Iran
deal with world powers last can sell its oil abroad.
year. Any company or govern-
Rouhani made the an- ment that buys Iran's oil
nouncement in a speech in faces harsh U.S. sanctions,
the desert city of Yazd. He the threat of which also
said the field was located stopped billions of dollars in
in Iran's southern Khuzestan business deals and sharply
province, home to its cru- In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Has- depreciated Iran's curren-
san Rouhani waves to the crowd in a public gathering at the city of Yazd, some 410 miles (680
cial oil industry. kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019. cy, the rial.
Some 53 billion barrels Associated Press Iran has since gone be-
would be added to Iran's yond the deal's stockpile
proven reserves of roughly try's dear workers and engi- can vary wildly by country en deposits of crude oil and and enrichment limits, as
150 billion, he said. neers were able to discover due to differing standards, the world's second-largest well as started using ad-
"I am telling the White 53 billion barrels of oil in a though it remains a yard- deposits of natural gas. It vanced centrifuges barred
House that in the days big field," Rouhani said. stick of comparison among shares a massive offshore by the deal. It also just be-
when you sanctioned the Oil reserves refer to crude oil-producing nations. field in the Persian Gulf with gan injecting uranium gas
sale of Iranian oil and pres- that's economically fea- Iran currently has the Qatar. into centrifuges at an un-
sured our nation, the coun- sible to extract. Figures world's fourth-largest prov- The new oil field could be- derground facility.q