Iraq: 13 Dead, 150 Injured As Security Forces Open Fire on Protesters

At least 13 people died and 150 were injured this Sunday in Baghdad and the southern cities of Basra and Nasiriya, as a result of clashes with security forces in one of the "worst" days since protests began. 

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Four Protesters Killed as Demonstrations Continue in Iraq

According to the Iraqi Human Rights Council, "three demonstrators were killed in violent clashes with security forces in Umm Qasr, south of Basra, and 78 others were injured. Meanwhile, three demonstrators died in Nasiriya and 71 people were injured. In Basra, seven people were killed in what one security official called "one of the worst'' days of the protest movement.

Also, in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, street battles between security sources and protesters continued as protesters demanded basic services, employment opportunities and an end to corruption.

According to medical and security sources, the number of deaths in Baghdad, Nasiriyah, and Basra in the past 24 hours reached 13, many of these deaths, due to the use of live ammunition and tear gas by security forces against demonstrators.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled al-Mahanna said Saturday night that three demonstrators were killed in Baghdad alone and more than 100 people were injured, including 30 members of the security forces in clashes with demonstrators at Ahrar Bridge.

At least 342 people have died since the start of the mass riots in Baghdad and southern Iraq in early October in what have been the largest demonstrations in decades.

Human rights groups have previously described the situation in Iraq as a "bloodbath" and have called on the government to stop the security forces.

For their part, protesters are demanding the overthrow of a political class that they consider corrupt and serving foreign powers, while many Iraqis suffer in poverty without work, medical care or education.