Najaf Buries its Dead as Sadr is Blasted for Attacks on Iraq Protesters
Arab World
Baghdad – Fadhel al-Nashmi
The attack by supporters of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against an Iraq protest camps drew wide popular and official condemnation. Late Wednesday, Sadrists raided a protest camp in the city of Najaf where demonstrators had been chanting against Prime Minister-designate Mohammad Allawi. Seven anti-government protesters were killed by bullets to the head or chest, medics in the city said, and dozens more were wounded. Sadr had backed the rallies demanding the ouster of the entire political class when they erupted in October but has since then changed course. In supporting Allawi as new premier, Sadr split with the rest of the popular movement, and his diehard followers have turned on rival protesters. On Thursday morning, the dead were wrapped in white shrouds and carefully laid in coffins draped with Iraqi flags, then carried in a funeral march through Najaf. Despite the bloodshed, Iraqis gathered for renewed rallies, with hundreds of students flooding Baghdad's Tahrir Square. "Whether ten or 100 die, I won't abandon this cause!" they chanted, as a girl stood silently nearby with a banner that read, "Our martyrs are our candidates". High school student Tayba walked into Tahrir alone, an Iraqi flag tied around her shoulders. "We've finally got used to it," she said somberly, of the violence in Najaf. "In fact, we're even more determined. Before, the students used to hold just one demonstration a week, now there are three." Nearly 490 people have been killed and 30,000 wounded since October, most of them demonstrators, according to a count compiled by AFP from security and medical sources. Caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi ordered a probe into the Najaf violence. For demonstrators in Nasiriyah further south, the deaths in Najaf are only the latest episode of their bloodstained uprising. "Demonstrators were shot dead, kidnapped, assassinated, and now their camps are attacked in broad daylight under the watchful eye of the security forces," said Adnan Dafar, a protester. Speculation had mounted in recent days over the sudden shift in Sadr’s stance towards the protests, with social media users suggesting that he is being held under house arrest in Iran where he is pursuing religious studies in Qom. Some of his supporters pleaded with him to make a televised address to the Iraqi people to dismiss such rumors and to confirm that the tweets he is making are being tweeted by him personally. Other supporters denied the forced arrest allegations, dismissing them as a campaign against Sadr. They said that he had many reasons to quit Iraq for Iran, including his studies. Condemnation In Diwaniyah, protesters added Sadr to their chants denouncing the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, led by Hadi Ameri which many have blamed for violence against protesters. "No Moqtada, No Hadi! My country will stay free!" they repeated. On Thursday, the United Nations' top representative in Baghdad condemned the bloodshed in Najaf. "Protection of peaceful protesters should be guaranteed at all times, not when it is too late," she said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said officials in his country were "outraged" by the violence in Najaf. "It is unconscionable that the perpetrators continue to act with impunity," Pompeo said, urging the Iraqi government "to take immediate steps to hold accountable the militias, thugs, and vigilante groups in Najaf and other cities for their attacks against Iraqis exercising their right to peaceful protest". Allawi made a televised statement on Thursday afternoon calling the situation "not acceptable at all". "The next government's priority will be serious investigations into the violations against protesters and security forces and holding whoever was behind them responsible, whoever they may be," he said. Allawi even hinted at a possible resignation, saying such attacks would make it "impossible to continue with the task assigned to me." When he announced his candidacy, Allawi had extended a hand to protesters and urged them to keep up their rallies. He has since met with representatives of the movement, pledging to release anyone detained for demonstrating, compensate the families of those killed in protest-related violence and work with the UN to implement demonstrators' demands. Allawi also pledged to include demonstrators as he seeks to form his cabinet, which he must do by March 2. Until it is confirmed by parliament with a vote of confidence, Allawi remains PM-designate. Former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi expressed his support for the peaceful protests, demanding that they be protected and that necessary reform be implemented. “The people will be victorious despite the killing, oppression and intimidation,” he tweeted. Tribal leaders urged Sadr against “becoming a party in spilling the blood of our sons.” They called against dragging Najaf in a bloody civil conflict over personal and political interests, demanding that he withdraw his supporters and refrain from inciting the people against each other. Weapons must be limited to the official government forces, they added.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2119596/najaf-buries-its-dead-sadr-blasted-attacks-iraq-protesters
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