Iraqi protesters on Wednesday torched the Iranian consulate in the city of Najaf in an escalation of anti-government demonstrations that have left more than 350 people dead.
Protesters chanted: “Victory to Iraq” and “Iran out,” outraged at the country that they blame for propping up the government that they have been demonstrating against for nearly two months.
Baghdad and the country’s south have been gripped by the largest grassroots protests since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Photo: AFP
The change of regime 16 years ago opened the door for Baghdad’s eastern neighbor to develop tremendous economic, political and military sway, now slammed by protesters as overreach.
The Iranian consulate in the city of Karbala was targeted earlier this month, and security forces defending the site shot four demonstrators dead at the time.
In Najaf on Wednesday, units fired tear gas that wounded several dozen, but ultimately retreated as hundreds of people encircled the consulate and lit tires, blankets, cardboard and other items, a correspondent said.
The protesters broke into the building itself, which had apparently been evacuated of its Iranian staff.
The fires capped a deadly day in Iraq, after two protesters were shot dead in the capital, medical and security sources said.
In Baghdad’s colonnaded streets, young demonstrators donned helmets and medical masks to face off once more against security forces unleashing tear gas.
A correspondent reported volleys of gunfire from behind concrete barricades where the security forces were deployed.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State group claimed that it was behind three deadly explosions that rocked Baghdad late on Tuesday, killing six people.
The street violence in Iraq has left more than 350 people dead and about 15,000 wounded over the past two months.
Another 100 protesters suffered injuries in two days of rallies in Hillah, just south of Baghdad, when security forces used tear gas against them.
The unrest has paralyzed daily life in many towns and cities, with schools closed, streets blockaded and government offices empty.
On Wednesday, religious authorities shuttered private schools in Karbala, and nearby Babylon and Najaf for two days.
They feared a repeat of Tuesday’s chaos, when clashes between riot police and protesters left one dead.
Karbala, visited by millions of Shiite pilgrims from around the world each year, had seen deadly skirmishes overnight and during the day.
In Nasiriyah, further south, authorities ordered all public offices closed for two days, although these had been largely shut already by ongoing sit-ins and marches.
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