Rights groups sound alarm over killings of Iraqi activists

A female activist was killed on Wednesday and three others wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their car in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Mourners carry the coffin of Reham Yacoub, a female activist who was killed by unidentified gunmen, during her funeral in Basra, Iraq, August 20, 2020.
Reuters

Mourners carry the coffin of Reham Yacoub, a female activist who was killed by unidentified gunmen, during her funeral in Basra, Iraq, August 20, 2020.

Human rights monitors sounded the alarm over a recent spike in attacks targeting civil rights activists in Iraq's south, ahead of a much anticipated meeting between the prime minister and the US president as part of ongoing strategic talks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi departed for an official trip to Washington this week and is expected to meet with President Donald Trump later on Thursday, to conclude strategic talks expected to shape the future of Iraq-US ties.

Meanwhile back home, rockets have continued to strike at the seat of his government, while assassination plots have targeted more civil activists this month in southern Iraq, compared to the period at the height of the protest movement in October, monitors said. 

Iran-backed Shia militia groups are widely suspected of being behind both types of attacks.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets in October to decry rampant government corruption, poor services and unemployment in Baghdad and across Iraq’s south. Hundreds died as Iraqi forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds.

READ MORE: Anti-government protests resume in Iraq after bloodshed

Activists killing

A female activist was killed on Wednesday and three others wounded when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their car in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, security and health sources told Reuters.

It was the third incident this week in which gunmen targeted an anti-government political activist, after one activist was killed and four others had their car fired upon in a separate incident.

Reham Yacoub was gunned down on Wednesday by assault rifle brandishing gunmen on the back of a motorcycle, the sources told Reuters. She was an activist in the local protest movement since 2018 and had led several women's marches.

The recent wave of violence begun when activist Tahseen Osama was assassinated on Friday, prompting a return of street demonstrations for three days in which security forces opened live fire on protesters who lobbed the governor's house with rocks and petrol bombs and blocked several main roads.

Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi subsequently sacked the Basra police and national security chiefs on Monday and ordered an investigation into the violence which calmed protesters down.

“It seems that there is a well-programmed cleansing of activists who were influential in the last protest movement,” said Ali al Bayati, spokesman for the semi-official Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights.

Bayati said the government was also complicit in the killings because of its “silence” and “inability to take real action to stop it.”

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According to the commission, there have been six assassination attempts targeting activists, with two killed in Basra in the month of August alone. That represents a jump as the commission recorded 16 attempted targeted killings in the 10 months after the uprising started in October.

A recent government investigation said 560 protesters and security forces were killed during the October movement. The probe drew criticism from activists who said it fell short of naming the perpetrators, who are widely suspected of having links to Iran-backed militia groups.

Kadhimi fired the Basra police chief on Monday and ordered a new probe into the killing of Osama.

READ MORE: Prominent Iraqi analyst shot dead in Baghdad

Talks in Washington

In Washington, talks are expected to focus on the future of the US-led coalition in Iraq. Coalition troops have left most bases in a planned drawdown. US officials have also voiced concern over the presence of Iran-backed militia groups.

Following a meeting in Washington with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that armed groups outside of Iraqi state control “have impeded our progress."

Key energy deals were also signed between Iraq and US companies on the sidelines of the meeting, including with General Electric, Honeywell and Stellar Energy, according to a State Department statement, after Baghdad detailed recent efforts to increase domestic gas supply to reduce reliance on Iran.

READ MORE: Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone as Iran's Zarif visits

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