BAGHDAD — The new Iraqi government has begun procedures to reinvestigate the violent acts during the popular protests that broke out in October and killed more than 700 people and injured over 25,000. The decision was greatly welcomed at home and in the international arena. The United Nations Security Council called for “transparency during the investigation.”

Following the first meeting of his government May 9, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khadimi announced the formation of an investigation committee, whose members have not been disclosed so far. He said that the committee will work on uncovering the names of the parties responsible for killing hundreds of protesters who have been calling for reform and the trial of corrupt politicians.

The committee is currently being formed and its members will be announced at a later stage. This is the second committee of this kind, following the one that was formed by Adel Abdul Mahdi, former prime minister who resigned at the end of November 2019, which did not yield satisfactory results for the protesters and failed to indict any party behind the bloody events that took place in central and southern Iraq.

The head of the Bayariq al-Khair parliamentary bloc, Mohamed al-Khaledi, had said Dec. 1, 2019, that the families of the victims can now file a complaint against the former prime minister. However, Ultrairaq had reported in February that the two largest parliamentary blocs, the Sairoon Alliance and Fatah Alliance, had assured Abdul Mahdi to stand against any attempt of trying the former prime minister.