BAGHDAD, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi authorities said on Tuesday that scores of protesters and security members were wounded in the central city of Karbala during in anti-government protests over unemployment, corruption and lack of public services.
The Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) said in a statement that the overnight protests in Karbala killed one and injured 143 security personnel and 50 demonstrators, with 140 arrested by security forces.
The city authorities later released 80 of the detainees while the rest would be brought before the judiciary on Tuesday, the statement added.
However, citing figures from the health ministry, a statement by the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said 53 protesters were injured, while al-Furat al-Awsat Operations Command, which is responsible for the security of the provinces Karbala, Najaf, Babil, Wasit and Diwaniyah, said 90 security members were wounded.
Earlier in the day, a statement by Ali al-Bayati, a member of IHCHR, said information from activists, organizations and non-governmental organizations about Karbala's unrest put the death toll at 18 killed and more than 800 wounded, but Karbala Health Department denied the information and said only one was killed in a criminal incident away from the protest site.
The unrest in Karbala started around midnight when the security forces tried to dismantle the sit-in in the city, using tear gas canisters, batons, water cannons and bullets, local media reported.
The demonstrations called for reform, accountability for corrupt people, improvement of public services, and job opportunities.
Earlier this month, massive protests erupted in the capital Baghdad and other central and southern provinces for similar reasons.
The Iraqi government has responded by presenting packages of reforms aimed at providing job opportunities, building housing complexes, paying stipends to the poor and scaling up the fight against corruption.
