Protests sprang up in Iraq on Friday, February 7, against Mohamed Tawfiq Allawi standing as a candidate for the prime minister and against the crimes committed by militia members of Muqtada Sadr in Najaf, Karbala, and other cities across Iraq. Violence against protesters In Najaf, the Health Department reported that 23 protesters were killed by Sadr’s forces on Wednesday, while another 16 are in a very serious condition, and 181 have been left injured. In response to the violence, US…

Iraq's top Shiite cleric on Friday criticised security forces for not doing more to prevent attacks on anti-government demonstrators, as new figures showed about 550 people have been killed in clashes since October. The new death toll was released by the Iraqi Human Rights Commission. Iraq's health ministry confirmed when the first protester was shot dead on October 1 but clammed up thereafter. The commission has since repeatedly complained that authorities declined its requests for information on deaths, injuries and…

NAJAF - Seven people were shot dead on Wednesday in Iraq's shrine city of Najaf after supporters of powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr raided an anti-government protest camp, medics said. It marked the bloodiest episode yet in the escalating tensions between Sadr, a militiaman-turned-politician with a cult-like following across Iraq, and decentralised rallies that have demanded regime change since October. Sadr had initially backed the demonstrations but split with them suddenly this weekend, endorsing Mohammad Allawi as the country's new prime…

On Wednesday evening, at least seven protesters were shot dead in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, sparking fresh anti-government rallies across the country. Since the start of the protest movement in October, several hundred people, mostly demonstrators, have been killed in clashes, while tens of thousands more have been injured. Our reporters Cyril Payen and Amar Al Hameedawi travelled to the south of Iraq to get to the heart of the protests. For the past four months, tensions have…

BAGHDAD — At least eight anti-government protesters were shot dead and 52 were wounded in clashes with followers of a radical Shiite cleric in southern Iraq on Wednesday, Iraqi medical officials and activists said. The violence comes as new divisions have emerged among protesters and supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who initially threw his weight behind the uprising. But he then re-positioned himself toward the political establishment after political elites selected Mohammed Allawi as prime minister-designate, a candidate…

At least seven people were killed and 53 others injured in clashes in Iraq’s southern city of Najaf on Wednesday after supporters of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed an anti-government protest camp, medical and security sources said. All the dead suffered bullet wounds to the head or chest, the medics said. On Tuesday, anti-government demonstrators faced off against followers of al-Sadr in protest squares across Iraq, a day after one demonstrator was killed in a clash between the two sides.…

At least six people were killed in clashes in Iraq's southern city of Najaf on Wednesday after supporters of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed an anti-government protest camp, medical and security sources said, according to Reuters.The medical sources said at least 20 more were wounded in the violence but did not provide further details.The security sources said that supporters of Sadr, known as blue hats for the blue caps they often wear, had tried to clear the area of anti-government…

On the last day of January, the Iraqi people’s anti-Iranian regime uprising escalated in places like Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Dhi Qar province, Kut, Kirkuk, and Najaf. Protesters in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square were seen chanting “Iran, out, out!” to demand an end to the corrupt groups linked to the Iranian regime. While those in Al Wathba and Al Khilani squares reported that the oppressive security forces of the Iraqi government and the Iranian-backed militias were using live ammunition against demonstrators. Sky News reported…

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Populist Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged his followers on Sunday to help security forces clear roads blocked during months of sit-in protests, calling for a return to normal life after the designation of a new prime minister. adr, who had alternately sided with the anti-government protesters and the Iran-backed political groups they reject, urged his unarmed supporters known as “blue hats” to work with authorities to ensure schools and businesses can operate normally again. Protests broke out…

BAGHDAD (AP) — Anti-government demonstrators on Sunday rejected Iraq’s new prime minister-designate following his nomination by rival government factions, compounding the challenges he’ll have to surmount in order to resolve months of civil unrest. Meanwhile, new divisions emerged among protesters and supporters of a maverick and often inscrutable Shiite cleric, who initially threw his weight behind the uprising but now is re-positioning himself toward the political establishment, after elites selected a candidate for prime minister that he endorsed. On Sunday,…