Iraqi protesters torch house of Dhi Qar commander

Iraqi protesters try to remove the security forces’ barricades on Al-Sarafiya Bridge and try to enter the road of the high-security Green Zone, where key government offices and foreign embassies are based, during ongoing anti-government demonstrations at Tahrir Square in Iraq’s capital Baghdad on October 30, 2019 [Murtadha Sudani / Anadolu Agency]

Angry protesters set fire to the house of the military commander of Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq on Sunday, a local police source told Anadolu Agency.

“Hundreds of demonstrators burned the house of Jameel al-Shimmary, who was tasked with handling security in the province,” the source, who asked to remain unnamed, told Anadolu Agency.

Al-Shimmary was appointed last week before being sacked over the death of 35 protesters by security forces in the province this week.

Iraq has been rocked by mass protests since early October against poor living conditions and corruption. Protesters’ demands later spiraled into calls for dissolving Abdel-Mahdi’s government.

On Saturday, Abdul-Mahdi officially tendered his resignation to parliament.

According to Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights, at least 406 Iraqis have been killed and 15,000 have been injured since protests began Oct. 1.

READ: Iraq seeks arrest of Dhi Qar commander over deaths

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