Clashes between Iraqi security forces and Sunni
demonstrators have killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens more.
Local and military officials say the fighting
Tuesday in Hawija, near Kirkuk, began when security forces tried to arrest
people at a protest camp, and that at least two soldiers are among the dead
from a gun battle.
The clashes are among the fiercest since thousands
of Sunni protesters began staging demonstrations to demand an end to perceived
discrimination by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.
Sunni activists want Mr. Maliki to step down,
accusing the government of arbitrarily arresting Sunni opponents and holding
them without charges.
Iraq's Education Minister Mohammed Tamim, a Sunni
Muslim, submitted his resignation on Tuesday in protest at the raid, the deputy
prime minister's office said in a statement.
U.N. envoy Martin Kobler on Monday had called for
calm in the area. He urged security forces to exercise restraint and for
protesters to preserve peaceful demonstrations
Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/clashes-between-iraqi-forces-sunni-demonstrators-kill-23/1647091.html
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