Karbala, one of Islam’s holy cities, witnessed a massacre overnight. At least 98 protestors killed and 1000 wounded - videos coming in show brute force used against unarmed protestors. Clear that Iraqi govt&its various security arms will use all methods to shut their people down
The Iraqi governing class is divided between (1) those who want to use force to break the protests, believing them to be ‘traitors’ (2) those who don’t believe in this violent reaction but are completely incompetent&don’t know what to do. Both are responsible for loss of life
Since the start of the protests in Iraq, various armed groups have appeared trying to break the protests. Some are part of regular security forces, including Counterterrorism units! Others are militias trained to kill any opponent as an ‘exential threat’
Iraqi governing class is failing to grasp the situation. So far, ’steps’ taken to heed calls for change include questioning of 3 ministers in parliament by 11 November & establishing a committee ‘to review the constitution within 4 months’. Detachment from the street is palpable
The violence in Karbala puts clerics of Iraq in an even more difficult position. They cannot condone violence in a holy city and yet many of the Islamist parties in Baghdad have strong ties to religious establishment in Karbala - and Najaf. Political pressure will now increase
