Demonstrators in Iraq’s Nasiriyah Remove Protest Camp

Protesters in Iraq's Nasiriyah. (Reuters file photo)
Protesters in Iraq's Nasiriyah. (Reuters file photo)
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Demonstrators in Iraq’s Nasiriyah Remove Protest Camp

Protesters in Iraq's Nasiriyah. (Reuters file photo)
Protesters in Iraq's Nasiriyah. (Reuters file photo)

Anti-government protesters in Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province ended on Sunday a year of popular demonstrations that had swept the city of Nasiriyah.

The development took place amid reports that government authorities and groups affiliated to the Sadrist movement, of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, had threatened prominent activists.

The demonstrators had also likely cleared the protests sites in order to “catch their breath” and seriously consider the possibility of fielding candidates in next year’s June parliamentary elections. The candidates would be part of a larger coalition of activists from other parts of Iraq.

The removal of the protest camp will not mark the end of the rallies in Dhi Qar, said activists.

Official sources said the decision to clear the site had taken place through a prior agreement with the activists.

“That is part of the truth, but not all of it,” said activist and academic Abdul Wahhab al-Hamdani.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the decision stemmed from several factors, including pressure from the authorities and groups loyal to the Sadr movement. Over 20 activists were arrested in a single week as part of such pressure.

He also cited death threats against activists.

There are other reasons, continued Hamdani. Remaining in the protest camp was no longer useful for many of the youth and many calls had been made to clear the site due to the danger against them.

He also confirmed that planning for the elections was another factor and those preparations need focus to ensure that the candidates are successful.

The removal of the camp will not spell the end of the protests, he stressed, revealing that rallies will be held at the end of every week.



Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Lebanon Hopes for Neighborly Relations in First Message to New Syria Government

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeting with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the best neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.

Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in a phone call, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on X.

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah played a major part propping up Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad through years of war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war with Israel - a redeployment which weakened Syrian government lines.

Under Assad, Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon. But on Dec. 6, anti-Assad fighters seized the border with Iraq and cut off that route, and two days later, opposition factions captured the capital Damascus.

Syria's new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to establish relations with Arab and Western leaders after toppling Assad.