BAGHDAD, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) said on Tuesday that 10 protesters were killed and 159 others injured during the past two days of anti-government protests.
A statement by IHCHR said that the commission's teams, deployed in the protests sites of Baghdad and a number of the Iraqi provinces, have registered some violent acts that caused casualties and arrests during clashes between the demonstrators and the security forces.
The highest toll occurred in Baghdad as four protesters were killed and 85 others wounded, in addition to capturing 36 protesters during the past two days, the statement said.
In Iraq's southern city of Basra, three protesters were killed and 45 people wounded, including 24 security members, while 24 protesters were arrested during clashes with the security forces in the same period.
In the holy Shiite city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad, two protesters were killed and 18 others wounded, while the security forces arrested some 30 protesters.
In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a protester was killed and three others wounded in the protests, while the clashes in Dhi Qar province in southern Iraq resulted in the wounding of eight protesters, according to IHCHR.
The commission said that its teams have also registered blockade of main roads between the provinces by some demonstrators.
"While the commission emphasizes ensuring the right to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful demonstration, it calls on all parties to refrain from resorting to violence in order to protect all private and public property," IHCHR said.
Mass demonstrations have continued in Baghdad and other cities in central and southern Iraq since early October last year, demanding comprehensive reform, fight against corruption, better public services and more jobs.
