By Reuters
Reporting by Philip Pullella, editing by Susan Fenton
Pope Francis on Sunday criticised Iraq’s crackdown on anti-government protests, which have led to the deaths of more than 400 people since they erupted in Baghdad and other cities in October.
Reporting by Philip Pullella, editing by Susan Fenton
Pope Francis on Sunday criticised Iraq’s crackdown on anti-government protests, which have led to the deaths of more than 400 people since they erupted in Baghdad and other cities in October.
“I
am following the situation in Iraq with concern. It is with pain that I
have learned of the protest demonstrations of the past days that were
met with a harsh response, causing tens of victims,” Francis said at his
weekly Sunday blessing and message.
Iraqi security
forces have used live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades against
protesters and last week saw some of the bloodiest incidents since the
demonstrations began, with scores of people killed particularly in the
southern cities of Nassiriya and Najaf.
Francis, who has said he
wants to visit Iraq next year, told tens of thousands of people in St.
Peter’s Square that he was praying for the dead and wounded and invoking
God for peace in the country.
The
unrest, which has killed mostly demonstrators, amounts to the biggest
challenge for Iraq since Islamic State insurgents seized vast swathes of
Iraqi and Syrian territory in 2014.
It pits mostly young,
disaffected Shi’ite protesters against a Shi’ite-dominated government
backed by Iran and accused of squandering Iraq’s oil wealth while
infrastructure and living standards deteriorate.