Two anti-government protesters were killed by security forces and dozens injured in Baghdad late on Sunday, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission said, during a new round of demonstrations against corruption and poor public services.

The latest protests were triggered by electricity cuts in the searing summer heat and widening grievances over lack of basic services and widespread unemployment.

It is the first demonstration since Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi took office in May. Tensions between the security forces and the demonstrators soared when dozens of protesters cut off the road connecting two main intersections, the Tayaran Square and Tahrir Square.

Human rights monitors said that officials disguised in ordinary clothes opened fire using live ammunition on the demonstrators, who burned tires and chanted slogans about power cuts in the scorching summer months.

Anti-government protests erupted last October in Baghdad and spread across the south after angry Iraqis took to the streets demanding better employment opportunities and public services, including electricity and water.

Over 600 demonstrators were killed and thousands injured by security forces using live fire and tear gas.

Pressure from the protests led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in November.

Prior to joining office Mr Al Kadhimi vowed to meet protester demands by holding early elections and investigating protester deaths. Yet the new prime minister has had to deal with a catastrophic economic crisis triggered by a decline in oil prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ali Al Bayati a member of the Independent Iraqi Human Rights Commission told The National that the government must hold the perpetrators to account and should urgently respond to protester demands.

“We condemn the violence used by the Iraqi Security Forces and remind the government about its commitments to the constitution on protecting citizens and the right of freedom of expression,” Mr Al Bayati said.

The United Nations Mission in Iraq welcomed the government’s commitment to investigate and hold perpetrators accountable for attacks on demonstrators. “Iraqis are in a difficult place facing many challenges. Their right to peaceful protest must be protected unconditionally,” said a statement by the Mission on Twitter.

The National