A deadly attack on Iraqi protesters prompted Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Nechirvan Barzani to reiterate his condemnation of the use of violence against demonstrators, despite a history of Kurdish authorities using the same tactics locally.

Followers of populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, known as Sadrists or Blue Hats, opened fire Feb. 5 on a protesters' camp in the southern city of Najaf, killing at least eight people and wounding at least 20 more. But medical personnel and humanitarians pegged the losses much higher: 23 dead and 197 wounded, some severely.

“We condemn the repeated use of violence against demonstrators in Iraq," Barzani said in a Feb. 7 statement. "Peaceful demonstrations are a lawful, constitutional right, while killing demonstrators and using force in order to frighten and scatter protesters is an outright crime.”

Barzani had issued a similar statement in early December, calling violence against citizen protesters "a wanton crime" and stating that the "criminals, regardless of their affiliation, must be identified by relevant Iraqi authorities and face justice."