Najaf students protest recent deadly violence

(9 Feb 2020) Hundreds of university students skipped classes on Sunday to participate in a symbolic funeral procession in Najaf to mourn protesters killed in the city and in southern Iraq in recent days. Students from the University of Kufa carried mock coffins and chanted anti-government slogans as they marched through the streets. At least eight anti-government protesters were shot dead and 52 were wounded in clashes with followers of a radical Shiite cleric in southern Iraq on Wednesday, Iraqi medical officials and activists said. The violence comes as new divisions have emerged among protesters and supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who initially threw his weight behind the uprising. But he then re-positioned himself toward the political establishment after political elites selected Mohammed Allawi as prime minister-designate, a candidate he endorsed. The leaderless, economically driven protests are targeting Iraq's entire political class and calling for the overhaul of the sectarian system established after the 2003 US-led invasion. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/102011028589719587178/+APArchive​ Tumblr: https://aparchives.tumblr.com/​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a2656317bda6496ab8815e84574e1f50