Anger in Basra over Iraqi activist killings

Iraqi protesters torched the local parliament office and clashed with security forces in the southern city of Basra late Friday.

The demonstrators had gathered outside the building to demand the resignation of Basra Governor Asad al-Eidani after two prominent activists were shot in the city in the past week. 

The protesters burned the outer gate of the complex's entrance as they decried inaction by the government. 

Some reports said the demonstrators used petrol bombs and hurled stones at police. At least eight security personnel were injured in the clashes, a spokesman for the semi-official Independent High Commission for Human Rights said.

Security forces doused the blaze and were able to disperse the crowd by firing live rounds into the air, according to reports.

Basra, which produces a massive share of Iraq's oil, has been rocked by large-scale anti-government protests over corruption since October. 

Reham Yacoub, a respected activist who had been involved in the October marches, was shot by unidentified gunmen in Basra on Wednesday. Her death came just days after activist Tahseen Osama was gunned down, sparking street protests.  

Following the killings, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sacked the Basra police and national security chiefs and launched an investigation into the violence.

dvv/nm (AP, dpa)