Another 18 people were affected.
Two protesters were killed when they set fire to a temporary tent camp set up by demonstrators at the administrative centre of the southern Iraqi province of Dhi Qar in the city of Nasiriyah. This was reported by Al Sumaria TV on Monday, citing a statement by a representative of the Iraqi Security Administration.
According to him, “in the early hours of Monday morning, unknown people set fire to a tent camp that demonstrators set on Al-Habboubi Square, located virtually in the heart of the city. The fire killed two people and injured 18. Some of the victims are in serious condition.
Police are currently looking for the criminals responsible for the arson.
A spokesman for the department also said that the demonstrators have restored the tent camp. In his view, the situation there is “relatively calm”.
On January 24, a “march of millions” took place in Baghdad and other cities of the country, demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. One of the leaders of the Iraqi Shiites Muqtada al-Sadr in the address to the Iraqis demanded to close the country’s airspace for the American military purposes and to forbid the American troops to use the Iraqi military bases. The most powerful protests were held in the capital of Iraq and in the south of the country, in Basra and Dhi Qar provinces.
On Sunday, the Iraqi Society for Human Rights reported that, according to its data, during two days of protests in the capital and cities of the southern provinces at least 12 demonstrators were killed and about 230 participants were injured.