Three protesters were shot dead by Iraqi security forces who opened fire on a cr...
BAGHDAD - Three protesters were shot dead by Iraqi security forces who opened fire on a crowd trying to storm the Iranian consulate in the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Kerbala overnight, security and medical sources said on Monday.
“We came here today to revolt and hold a protest in front of the Iranian consulate. We came to pull down the Iranian flag and lift the Iraqi flag instead,” said one protester in Kerbala who refused to be identified. “The foreign ministry condemns the attack by some protesters on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consulate in holy Kerbala. The security of missions and consulates is a red line that cannot be crossed. Actions like this will not affect the friendly and neighborly relations tying both countries,” it said.
The spread of anti-Iranian sentiment deep into Iraq’s Shi’ite heartland signals a broad discontent with Tehran’s interference, and Iraqi Shi’ites’ shifting priorities with sectarian identity taking a back seat to economic concerns. The protesters blame a political system that shares power among sectarian parties, making corruption entrenched.
Since last Wednesday, protests have halted operations at Iraq’s main Gulf port Umm Qasr, which receives the bulk of the country’s food imports.
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