Anti-Iran Slogans Chanted at ‘Arbaeen’ Pilgrimage in Iraq

Shiite pilgrims arrive Karbala, Iraq, for the Arbaeen ritual, October 6, 2020. AP
Shiite pilgrims arrive Karbala, Iraq, for the Arbaeen ritual, October 6, 2020. AP
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Anti-Iran Slogans Chanted at ‘Arbaeen’ Pilgrimage in Iraq

Shiite pilgrims arrive Karbala, Iraq, for the Arbaeen ritual, October 6, 2020. AP
Shiite pilgrims arrive Karbala, Iraq, for the Arbaeen ritual, October 6, 2020. AP

Dozens of people were wounded in clashes between Iraqi security forces and anti-Iran protesters in Iraq’s southern city of Karbala Tuesday during the annual Shiite Muslim pilgrimage of Arbaeen.

Iraqi protesters clashed with security forces outside a holy Shiite Muslim shrine in the southern city of Karbala causing injuries to several people, a Reuters reporter said.

Tuesday’s clashes took place near the Imam Hussein shrine.

The protesters were commemorating demonstrators killed during months of anti-government and anti-Iran unrest in 2019 in which more than 500 Iraqis died.

The protesters had marched towards the shrine, witnesses said. Some became angry because they were not allowed into the shrine concourse, the Reuters reporter said. Security forces then charged the protesters with batons, causing skirmishes and pushing them back.

Demonstrators retaliated against security forces attacking other protesters over the chanting of anti-Iran slogans.

A Karbala security official said the protesters had arrived as part of a pilgrimage group, but before the time allotted for them to tour the shrine. Part of the group grew violent and police acted to eject them from the area, the official said.

In other news, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi formed a committee to investigate recent rocket and explosion attacks on diplomatic missions and convoys for the US-led Coalition forces in Iraq, according to a communique.

The committee led by Iraq’s national security advisor Qassem al-Araji includes head of the Popular Mobilization Forces Falih al-Fayyadh, head of national security council Abdulghani Assadi and army’s chief of staff Abdulamir Yarallah as well as a number of other security officers.

The committee has to complete its investigation within 30 days and provide the premier with results of the investigation, the communique said.

Al-Kazemi said during its first meeting that "the committee is authorized to obtain any information it requests from any party, and we expect it to come up with its results within the timeframe set for it."

Kadhimi stressed the importance of granting full information access to the probe body. He also predicted that the committee will come up with results within its designated timeframe.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.