BAGHDAD - At least five people have been killed and scores of others wounded in parts of southern Iraq, police and medical sources said, as weeks-long protests against the country's political system and ruling elite intensify.
In Nasiriyah, security forces used live ammunition and tear gas canisters to disperse protesters who had gathered overnight on three bridges in the southern city, killing three people, the sources told Reuters news agency on Sunday.
More than 50 others were reportedly wounded during clashes. Protests continued in the city on Sunday, with some government offices reportedly set on fire.
Separately, two more people were killed and more than 70 wounded on Sunday after security forces used live fire to disperse protesters near the main Gulf port of Umm Qasr, south of the city of Basra, Reuters cited police and medical sources as saying.
Hospital sources said the cause of death was live fire, adding that some of the wounded were in a critical condition.
The tolls could not be independently verified.(FA)
In Nasiriyah, security forces used live ammunition and tear gas canisters to disperse protesters who had gathered overnight on three bridges in the southern city, killing three people, the sources told Reuters news agency on Sunday.
More than 50 others were reportedly wounded during clashes. Protests continued in the city on Sunday, with some government offices reportedly set on fire.
Separately, two more people were killed and more than 70 wounded on Sunday after security forces used live fire to disperse protesters near the main Gulf port of Umm Qasr, south of the city of Basra, Reuters cited police and medical sources as saying.
Hospital sources said the cause of death was live fire, adding that some of the wounded were in a critical condition.
The tolls could not be independently verified.(FA)
