The city of Nasiriyah, the center of Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq, has recently witnessed large-scale protests, peaking on Friday night. The number of demonstrators is expected to rise following calls from activists to escalate against the local authorities.
Protesters are calling for the dismissal of the city’s police chief and the release of detainees, according to activists. The unrest was triggered by the new police chief, Major General Najah Al-Abadi, who launched widespread arrests of wanted individuals over the past two weeks.
Political sources in Baghdad are expressing concern over the severity of the situation in Nasiriyah, fearing that unrest could spread to other provinces, especially amid the sensitive conditions in the region due to the ongoing Israeli war.
Local and security authorities in the province have justified the arrests, claiming they were carried out under judicial warrants for suspects. However, protest groups accuse the new police chief, who hails from Najaf and is close to the Badr Organization led by Hadi Al-Amiri, of targeting activists from the protest movement that erupted in Oct. 2019. Nasiriyah was a key stronghold of that movement, which lasted for over a year.
According to civil organizations, around 180 protesters were killed and over 5,000 were injured in Dhi Qar during the 2019 Tishreen Protests. On Friday, security forces stormed the protest site in Al-Habboubi Square, leading to injuries among both protesters and police. Police reported that three officers and 19 police members were injured, while activists claim many protesters were also hurt. However, many of them avoided hospitals, fearing arrest or legal repercussions.
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior has emphasized the need to protect demonstrators in Dhi Qar but rejected what it called “unacceptable methods” of protest. Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Muqdad Miri stated during a Saturday press conference that the ministry “will not allow tire burnings, road blockages, or attacks on public property,” stressing that the authority of the state and the law “will prevail in Dhi Qar.”
Miri also disclosed that security forces had arrested 578 individuals, most of whom, he claimed, were not protesters.
Activists and protest groups present a different narrative, accusing “influential political parties” of being behind the recent escalation in Nasiriyah. Three activists told Asharq Al-Awsat that these parties had pushed government agencies to target those wanted by law, conflating criminal suspects with individuals involved in protests. One activist pointed out that the timing of the arrest campaign, coinciding with the seventh anniversary of the Tishreen Movement, underscores the political motives behind it.
