Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi arrived in the southern province of Basra on Saturday after days of protests prompted by a series of assassinations that have targeted prominent activists.
Kadhimi arrived in Basra soon after his return from an official visit to the United States, a government official told the Iraq news agency.
He is accompanied by a high-ranking security delegation that includes the defense minister, counter-terrorism chief and head of the national security agency.
Protesters in Basra city set fire to parliament’s local office on Friday as security forces fired live rounds in the air to disperse them.
The protesters had gathered to demand that parliament sack the provincial governor after two activists were killed and others wounded in three separate attacks by unknown gunmen this week. Security forces opened fire while the protesters lobbed petrol bombs.
Activist Reham Yacoub, who had led several women’s marches in the past, was killed on Wednesday and three others wounded when gunmen, brandishing assault rifles on the back of a motorcycle, opened fire on their car.
It was the third incident this week in which gunmen targeted an anti-government political activist, after one activist was killed and four others had their car fired upon in a separate incident.
The wave of violence began when activist Tahseen Osama was assassinated last week, prompting street demonstrations lasting three days in which security forces opened live fire on protesters who threw rocks and petrol bombs at the governor’s house and blocked several main roads.
Kadhimi sacked the Basra police and national security chiefs on Monday and ordered an investigation into the violence. That calmed protesters until Yacoub’s killing brought them back out on the streets.
