- Title: Balloons carrying names of slain Iraqi protesters light up Najaf sky
- Date: 29th December 2019
- Summary: NAJAF, IRAQ (DECEMBER 28, 2019) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) STUDENTS CHEERING AND CLAPPING AS THEY RELEASE CANDLE BALLOONS CARRYING NAMES OF PROTESTERS KILLED DURING ONGOING ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS CANDLE BALLOONS FLYING IN SKY STUDENTS RELEASING CANDLE BALLOON VARIOUS OF CANDLE BALLOONS FLYING IN SKY ATTENDEES MUSICIAN PLAYING ON PIANO VARIOUS OF WOMAN HOLDING CANDLE BALLOON STUDENT RELEASING CANDLE BALLOON CARRYING NAME OF DEAD PROTESTER READING (Arabic): "Martyr Ali al-Asady" / BALLOON FLYING IN SKY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) STUDENT, NAWAR AL-A'MIRI, SAYING: "We want to immortalise the names of the martyrs. We wrote a name of one of the protesters on each balloon and release them to the sky, so that their names ascend to the sky just like their souls did. This shows the how peaceful the protests are." CANDLE BALLOONS GIRL HOLDING CANDLE BALLOON CANDLE BALLOON BEING RELEASED CANDLE BALLOONS IN SKY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) STUDENT, MUSLIM, SAYING: "The aim of this festival is to send a message of peace. We want to express this idea with any possible way, through our voices, (we send a message of) peace." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE HOLDING CANDLE BALLOONS CANDLE BALLOON BEING RELEASED IN SKY VARIOUS OF CANDLE BALLOONS IN SKY
- Embargoed: 12th January 2020 13:50
- Keywords: Candle Balloons Iraq protests Protesters killed by security forces in Iraq
- Location: NAJAF, IRAQ
- City: NAJAF, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Government/Politics,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001BC12UL1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: They sky of the holy city of Najaf illuminated with nearly 1,000 candle balloons carrying names of Iraqi protesters who were killed during the country's ongoing anti-government protests.
Students in Najaf released on Saturday (December 28) the candle balloons in an event that aims to pay tribute to those who died and to send a message reflecting the peaceful nature of the protests.
More than 450 people, mostly unarmed demonstrators but also some members of the security forces, have been killed since a wave of popular unrest began on October 1.
Protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they see as profoundly corrupt and keeping many Iraqis in poverty.
Iraqi president Barham Salih refused on Thursday to designate the nominee of an Iran-backed parliamentary bloc for prime minister, saying he would rather resign than appoint someone to the position who would be rejected by protesters.
(Production: Ahmed Saeed, Maher Nazeh, Mohammed Katfan) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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