Iraq protests leave 14 dead in two weeks, rights official says

At least 14 people have been killed in Iraq, in two weeks of protests over corruption and lack of public services, a member of the state human rights commission says.

Demonstrations have rocked southern and central Iraq since erupting in the oil-rich port city of Basra on July 8, when security forces opened fire killing one person.

They have since waned, after security forces repeatedly used force to disperse demonstrators, although AFP reporters cited protests in the south yesterday.

Rights commission official Fadel al-Gharrawi says 14 people died in Basra, Samawah, the Shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala, and in the provinces of Diwaniyah and Babylon.

He did not specify whether those killed were protesters or members of the security services, but a Sunday toll compiled from medical sources put the number of dead at 11, all demonstrators.

Gharrawi says 275 protesters and 470 security personnel were wounded during thousands-strong demonstrations against corrupt officials.

— AFP