ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Protesters have started fires at the entrance of the Iranian consulate in the southern city of Karbala, an activist has told Rudaw English as anger rages following the assassination of a prominent activist in the city.
“The protesters have set fire to the Iranian consulate’s walls; it’s an enforced area, they can’t go inside. The fire is only outside," said local activist Mohammed Ibrahim al-Inzi.
“There are caravans outside the consulate and they have been set on fire. It’s a place of high security. I don’t think the protesters can get inside,” Khaleed Allawi al-Ardawi, head of the University of Karbala's center for strategic studies told Rudaw’s Shaho Amin.
Video footage shared on social media shows several fires near the entrance to the consulate and its surrounding walls.
Sabreen News, linked to the Popular Mobilization Forces, some of which are backed by Iran, claimed on Telegram that a number of protesters have been wounded as a result of ensuing clashes with security forces at the scene.
Telegram accounts close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have labelled the protesters as “troublemakers” and claimed that activists close to western and Arab embassies are trying to cause a crisis as the country approaches parliamentary elections.
Activist Ridha Hawjel told Rudaw English that clashes are taking place between protesters and members of the security forces in the city's Zayed Square.
Ihab al-Wazni was shot dead at dawn on Sunday by unknown gunmen, prompting fresh demonstrations in the city. His death has been widely condemned, including by foreign diplomats in Iraq.
"The United States condemns in strongest terms the murder of Ihab Al Wazni. Silencing independent voices through violence is unacceptable," the US embassy in Baghdad said on Sunday.
Iranian-backed militias are accused of being behind the murder. "The continuation of the series of assassinations of activists, the last of which was the assassination of the activist Ihab al-Wazni, is a dangerous indication of Iraq's transformation into a forest ruled by militias," journalist Azal al-Sayyab wrote on Twitter.
“I was at the funeral today and the chants were all against Iran. The people blame Iran for Ihab’s assassination and they want Iran to be held accountable for its actions,” said Ardawi.
“The area where Ihab was assassinated is a high-security rea near the city center, you can’t use a gun easily there. Another activist, Fahem, was killed in the same exact area around a year ago but no one took responsibility for the incident and no names were identified for the act,” said Inzi.
Updated 11:32pm
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