Baghdad security bolstered for funeral of clash victims

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi authorities on Tuesday stepped up security across Baghdad ahead of a planned funeral for supporters of prominent Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who were killed Saturday in clashes with security personnel.

Security forces closed several bridges leading to Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone, which contains government buildings, Iraq’s parliament and foreign diplomatic missions.

Vehicles were also prevented from using the Mohamed al-Qasim highway, which leads to central Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.

The square had been the main venue for massive protests by al-Sadr supporters that had preceded Saturday’s clashes.

Hundreds of soldiers, anti-riot personnel and civil defense teams were deployed across the capital in advance of Tuesday’s planned funerals.

"Today’s security mobilization is meant to protect the thousands of people expected to participate in the funeral of those killed during Saturday’s demonstration and to prevent potential attempts by infiltrators to breach government institutions [inside the Green Zone]," Baghdad Police Captain Ahmed Khalaf told Anadolu Agency.

The al-Sadr-linked High Coordination Committee, for its part, issued instructions for funeral participants, urging them to refrain from committing acts of violence and to cooperate with security forces.

The committee also called on al-Sadr supporters to refrain from raising any banners or flags affiliated with political figures or parties.

According to the committee, a funeral procession will set out from Baghdad’s eastern Mohamed al-Qasim Bridge towards Tahrir Square at 3:00 p.m. local time.

On Saturday, thousands of al-Sadr supporters staged demonstrations in Tahrir Square near the Green Zone to demand the reform of Iraq’s official electoral commission.

One police officer and four demonstrators were killed -- while some 320 others were injured -- during clashes that ensued after security forces tried to disperse demonstrators by force.

In recent weeks, al-Sadr has issued calls for the formulation of a new electoral commission untainted by what he describes as by "political and sectarian" bias.

Commission officials, however, reject the assertion, saying the body is able to provide objective oversight of the country’s elections.