Over the weekend, Iraqi officials made blanket denials of responsibility for the deaths in their crackdowns on protesters, saying that they had never opened fire on any protesters.
It wasn’t a very convincing argument, and President Barham Salih confirmed on Monday that the troops had used “excessive force outside the rules of engagement” against the protesters.
Salih, who had largely not commented on the protests before, says that the government has already begun the process of holding commanding officers involved in these incidents responsible.
Iraq is facing growing criticism, with many thousands of casualties in a week of protests, and particular concern about violence being conducted against journalists, seen as an attempt by security forces to limit coverage of abuses.
A scenario of protest offers an opportunity to militancy. By committing false flag acts of violence during demonstrations, an entity whose purpose is to sell weapons and security will surely act. Mayhem makes finding perpetrators difficult. Placing violence instigators into peaceful demonstrations is a long standing tactic, for american citizens to discern what is going on there is improbable.