The pair must have known they were in the gunmen’s crosshairs, and soon one of them crumpled, hit by a bullet. But their determination to continue was a powerful message to authorities and militias trying to crush Iraq’s popular uprising by force. Activists say 23 people were killed on Friday night in the deadliest incident to hit the Iraqi capital in weeks of protests. Any attempt by Tehran to intervene again could be explosive; protesters have already attacked and burned the country’s consulate in the southern city of Najaf. But in a sign of the protesters’ defiance, demonstrators were flocking back towards Khilani square within an hour of the shootings.

Source: The Guardian December 07, 2019 19:52 UTC