[AlAhram] Officials told AP security forces in Umm Qasr were firing live ammunition and tear gas, and that protesters have seized an armored vehicle.At least three anti-government protesters have been killed in festivities with security forces in southern Iraq, officials said Tuesday, as authorities tried to reopen the country's main port, which had been blocked by demonstrators for three days.
Security and medical officials said a protester was killed and eight more were maimed in Umm Qasr, a key oil terminal on the Persian Gulf. The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights, a semi-official agency, said two people were killed and 23 maimed in festivities in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief news hounds, said security forces in Umm Qasr were firing live ammunition and tear gas, and that protesters have seized an armored vehicle.
Security forces have killed at least 267 protesters since early October during two major waves of protests. In southern Iraq, protesters have ransacked and torched the offices of political parties linked to Iran, and on Sunday night they attacked the Iranian Consulate in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.
In Baghdad, protesters crossed a bridge over the Tigris River on Monday and clashed with security forces near the headquarters of state-run TV and the prime minister's office. At least five protesters and a member of the security forces were killed and scores were maimed. The protesters set tires and dumpsters ablaze within 500 meters (yards) of the prime minister's office, sending huge clouds of black smoke into the sky.
Netblocks, a group that monitors worldwide internet access, reported a major shutdown by Iraqi authorities overnight, with usage in Baghdad and southern Iraq dropping to 19% of normal levels. It said the internet was partially restored early on Tuesday, but that ``some networks are still offline and social media and messaging apps remain blocked or degraded.''
Authorities shut down internet access and blocked social media sites on a number of occasions during an earlier wave of protests in October, but Netblocks said the latest shutdown was the most severe yet.