Iraq: Protesters set fire to Iranian consulate, again

Iraqi demonstrators clash with Iraqi forces during ongoing anti-government protests at Khallani Square in Iraq’s capital Baghdad on 13 November, 2019 [Murtadha Sudani/Anadolu Agency]

Protesters in Iraq set fire to the Iranian consulate in the southern city of Najaf for the third time, local media reported Tuesday, reports Anadolu Agency.

The consulate was previously torched on November 27 and December 1.

Iraq has been rocked by mass protests since early October over poor living conditions and corruption. The protesters’ demands later spiraled into calls for dissolving Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s government.

READ: Protesters retake part of bridge in central Baghdad

The prime minister delivered his resignation letter to the parliament, which was approved on Sunday.

According to Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights, at least 346 Iraqis have been killed and 15,000 have been injured since the protests began on October 1.

Iraqi protests – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

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