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Iraq’s top Shiite Muslim cleric Ali al-Sistani set a two-week deadline on Friday for the country’s authorities to bring to justice those who shot at protesters in recent deadly anti-government rallies.
Over 104 people, mainly demonstrators, were killed in clashes between protests and security forces in the unrest that rocked Baghdad and other parts of Iraq in October.
On Friday, al-Sistani called on the government and judicial authorities to conduct a credible investigation into the shootings at protesters and detain the culprits within two weeks.
“This is a pressing measure at present and shows the extent of the government’s seriousness and sincerity in carrying out real reforms.’’
The influential cleric said in a sermon read out by his representative Abdel-Mahdi al-Karbalai in a mosque in the city of Karbala.
On October 1, thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of several provinces in the oil-rich country and continued for a week to protest against corruption, lack of jobs and poor services in particular access to electricity and clean water.
The protests come one year after Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi took office in Iraq, which is still grappling with a lengthy U.S. backed military campaign against the Islamic State extremist group. (dpa/NAN)
