Four die in Iraq clashes between protesters and security
By IANSFriday, February 25, 2011
BAGHDAD - Three protesters were killed in Iraq’s Mosul town while another died in Kirkuk province during demonstrations in Iraq, a media report said.
Three protesters were killed and five others were wounded in a demonstration in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul Friday, Xinhua reported.
The deaths occurred when hundreds of protesters tried to storm the Nineveh provincial government building in central Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad.
The shootout erupted when an unknown protester threw a hand-grenade near the government building, setting fire to one of its rooms, prompting the guards to open fire that killed three people and wounded at least five others, a Xinhua correspondent said.
The security forces used water cannons to disperse the demonstrators and prevent them from storming the government building.
The demonstrators demanded resignation of the provincial governor Athel al-Nujafi and sought better public services, employment and end to corruption.
The demonstration was part of nation-wide protests called by Iraqi groups on the social networking website Facebook to be held Feb 25, asking Iraqis to hold what they named “Revolution of Iraqi Rage”, or “Day of Rage” across the country. The move was widely seen inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt.
A man was killed and 23 othe people were wounded in clashes between Iraqi security forces and protesters during a demonstration in a town in Iraq’s oil-rich province of Kirkuk, a security source said Friday.
Hundreds of protesters in the town of Hawija, 50 km southwest of Kirkuk city, took to the streets to protest deteriorated public services and widespread corruption after eight years of the US-led invasion to the country, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clashes started when security forces opened fire trying to prevent the demonstrators from approaching the Town Hall building, killing at least one of them and wounding 23 others, the source said.
The shooting provoked the protesters who attacked the Town Hall and set fire to the building, the source said, adding that dozens of protesters tried to attack the police headquarters of the town.
