Iraq authorities suspend Saudi TV channels Al Arabiya and Al-Hadath

Al-Hadath TV channel said on Saturday that Iraq has decided to suspend its work, as well as the work of Al Arabiya. According to Al-Hadath website, the Iraqi police force asked reporters of the two Saudi TV channels to stop any journalism activity in the country.

Al-Hadath said, as reported by Reuters that the Iraqi authorities have stopped its activity and the activity of Al Arabiya because they have no work licences in Iraq. The Iraqi authorities’ decision coincides with the two channels’ coverage of the demonstrations that started on Friday in Iraq.

The squares of Tahrir, Tayeran, Al-Jumhuriya Bridge and nearby areas in central Baghdad were filled with demonstrators on Saturday. Thousands in the south of the country broke the curfew and took part in continuing large-scale demonstrations, despite the escalation of repression to a record level by Iraqi security forces.

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The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Iraq announced on Saturday evening that the number of victims of demonstrations across the country since Friday increased to 63 dead people and 2592 injured people.

In southern Iraq, particularly in Karbala, there were massive demonstrations, including those in front of the Iranian consulate in the city centre. Demonstrators entered the gate of the consulate. They raised the Iraqi flag on it before the security forces managed to disperse them while they were chanting anti-Iranian slogans similar to those demonstrators chanted in Basra and Dhi Qar at the same time.

Despite the curfew in Basra, several areas of the governorate witnessed demonstrations in which thousands of citizens participated, as was the case in Al-Muthanna, Wasit and Maysan.

Police chiefs in seven southern governorates announced the continuation of the curfew while announcing the suspension of official working hours on Sunday in Wasit, Maysan, Diwaniya and Dhi Qar for government departments and schools, amid fears that the funerals of Friday and Saturday demonstration victims will spark other demonstrations and violence.