Iraq's military admits it used 'excessive force' against protesters as Amnesty International seeks accountability for more than 100 killed over the last week
"Excessive force outside the rules of engagement was used and we have begun to hold accountable those commanding officers who carried out these wrong acts," the military says after more than 100 protesters were killed over the last week.
It said Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi had ordered those forces to be replaced with federal police units and the intelligence services to open an investigation into the incident. On Sunday evening a mass protest in Sadr City in east Baghdad led to clashes that medics and security forces said left 13 people dead.
"The alternative is unthinkable for a population already weary and in need," said Katharina Ritz, ICRC's head of delegation in Iraq.By Monday evening, the military had been pulled out of Sadr City and a few police officers could be seen on the edges of the neighbourhood, an AFP photographer there said, with no protests there or in other typical gathering spots.
He said his forces would support actions against corrupt institutions but not "the fall of the regime," a chant that has featured more prominently in the protests in recent days.
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