Baghdad Deaths, Injuries to Be Investigated amid Election Dispute

Supporters of armed groups run from security forces after clashes during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 5, 2021. (Reuters)
Supporters of armed groups run from security forces after clashes during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 5, 2021. (Reuters)
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Baghdad Deaths, Injuries to Be Investigated amid Election Dispute

Supporters of armed groups run from security forces after clashes during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 5, 2021. (Reuters)
Supporters of armed groups run from security forces after clashes during a protest against the election results in Baghdad, Iraq, November 5, 2021. (Reuters)

An investigation has begun into the deaths and injuries of demonstrators and security forces after clashes in Baghdad on Friday, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported, citing Iraq's Joint Operations Command.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the formation of a committee to investigate following clashes between Iraqi security forces and supporters of parties that are disputing the results of a general election in October.

A Joint Operations Command statement did not mention the number of deaths and injuries, Reuters reported.

The statement added that "the negligent will be brought to legal accountability for their negligence and violation of the explicit orders of the commander in chief, which stressed that live bullets should not be fired under any circumstances," INA reported.

Al-Kadhimi also ordered compensation for victims of the clashes and decided to personally supervise the progress of the investigation, INA said.

It was the first significant violent clash between government forces and supporters of the political parties, most of which have armed wings and are aligned with Iran, since those groups lost dozens of parliament seats after the Oct. 10 vote.

Police fired tear gas and live ammunition into the air as scores of the protesters threw stones and tried to advance towards Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, the security sources said.

Hospital sources said that more than 21 protesters were hurt mostly from smoke inhalation and nine policeman injured from being pelted by stones.

The parties that made the biggest gains in Iraq's October election include that of populist Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who publicly opposes Iranian interference in Iraqi politics and has called for all remaining Western troops to withdraw from the country.

As per al-Kadhimi's orders, the investigation committee will include the security of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).



Israel Says Its Forces Will Remain in 5 Lebanon Locations after Tuesday’s Withdrawal Deadline

 A Lebanese army convoy enters Houla village in south Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 to evacuate people and the body of a girl who get shot on Sunday by Israeli forces. (AP)
A Lebanese army convoy enters Houla village in south Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 to evacuate people and the body of a girl who get shot on Sunday by Israeli forces. (AP)
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Israel Says Its Forces Will Remain in 5 Lebanon Locations after Tuesday’s Withdrawal Deadline

 A Lebanese army convoy enters Houla village in south Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 to evacuate people and the body of a girl who get shot on Sunday by Israeli forces. (AP)
A Lebanese army convoy enters Houla village in south Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 to evacuate people and the body of a girl who get shot on Sunday by Israeli forces. (AP)

Israel's military says its forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after Tuesday's deadline for their withdrawal under a ceasefire with the Hezbollah group, as Lebanon’s government expressed frustration over another delay.

A separate ceasefire in Gaza was also in doubt as the region marked 500 days of Israel's war with Hamas, while Israel and the United States send conflicting signals over whether they want the truce to continue. Talks on the ceasefire's second phase are yet to start.

Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the five locations in Lebanon provide vantage points or are located across from communities in northern Israel, where about 60,000 Israelis are still displaced. He said the “temporary measure” was approved by the US-led body monitoring the truce, which earlier was extended by three weeks.

Under the agreement, Israeli forces should withdraw from a buffer zone in southern Lebanon that would be patrolled by the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers. The ceasefire has held since taking effect in November.

Israel is committed to a withdrawal in “the right way, in a gradual way, and in a way that the security of our civilians is kept,” Shoshani told reporters.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters the ceasefire “must be respected,” saying “the Israeli enemy cannot be trusted.” He said Lebanese officials were working diplomatically to achieve the Israeli withdrawal, “and I will not accept that a single Israeli remains on Lebanese territory.”

Hezbollah began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict boiled over into all-out war in September as Israel carried out massive waves of airstrikes and killed most of the Iran-backed group’s senior leaders.

Earlier on Monday, an Israeli drone targeted a car in Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon, the deepest strike inside Lebanese territory since the ceasefire took effect. Israel said it targeted Mohammad Shaheen, the head of Hamas’ operations in Lebanon. AP video there showed a charred vehicle.

“Now the fear has come back to people," said Ahmed Sleim, a Sidon resident, who worried about a return to war.