By Canadian Press

Irate, protesters in Iraq’s south torch parliament offices

Aug 21, 2020 | 11:41 AM

BASRA, Iraq — Protesters torched parliament offices in Iraq’s oil-rich south on Friday following days of inaction by the government after two activists were assassinated.

Demonstrators burned the outer gate of the entrance to the parliament building in Basra province, the area that produces the lion’s share of the crude exporting country’s oil. The building holds the local offices of Iraq’s main parliament building’in the capital Baghdad.

It is the most violent incident in Basra since the October mass anti-government demonstrations, when tens of thousands took to the streets to decry government corruption in Baghdad and across the south. Destabilizing protests also erupted in Basra in the summer of 2018.

An Associated Press photographer witnessed demonstrators clash with security forces by hurling molotov cocktails.

The violence comes after activist Reham Yacoub was gunned down in Basra on Wednesday by unidentified gunmen. Days before activist Tahseen Osama was killed by armed men, which first prompted dozens of protesters to take to the streets. Police responded by firing live rounds at the demonstrators.

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In response, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had Basra’s chief of police sacked.

But protesters said this was not enough, decrying inaction by the Iraqi government over the two killings.

Al-Kadhimi is on an official visit to Washington D.C. to conclude strategic talks expected to shape the future of U.S.-Iraq relations, and the future of the U.S. troop presence in the country.

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Associated Press writer Samya Kullab contributed from Istanbul

Nabil Al-Jurani, The Associated Press