Iraq protester gunned down in second night of violence

BASRA, Iraq: An Iraqi demonstrator was shot dead in the southern city of Basra overnight, a security source and the human rights commission said Thursday, the latest in a string of protester deaths. The anti-government demonstrations rocking the Iraqi capital and the Shiite-majority south since October had abated in recent weeks amid spiralling tensions between Iraq’s key allies, the United States and Iran.

To recapture momentum and boost pressure on authorities, protesters this week began shutting down roads across the country — but violence against them has escalated, too. The young demonstrator was shot dead by unidentified assailants after he left the main protest camp in Basra, a security source said. He had no papers on his person and police were waiting for someone to identify the body, the source told AFP.

It was the second straight night a protester was gunned down in Basra. Female activist and paramedic Janat Madhi, 49, was killed the same way late on Tuesday. The deaths bring this week’s toll to 12 demonstrators killed, according to the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, a state-funded monitor which reports on protest violence. Four people were killed in Baghdad, one in Diyala, two in Karbala and five in Basra, including the latest two killings. “Violence against demonstrators is clearly ongoing,” commission member Ali Bayati told AFP. “The unknown armed groups targeting protesters show that security forces are unable to protect citizens,” he said.