In 1 October 2019, mass protests broke out in Baghdad and several southern Iraqi cities over unemployment, corruption and poor public services. Throughout these protests Amnesty International has documented security forces using excessive and, in some cases, lethal force to disperse protesters. This has included the use of live ammunition by masked gunmen and snipers, as well as abusive use of tear gas.
Here we detail the use of a particular type of tear gas grenade modelled after high-explosive military grenades designed for combat. Sometimes nicknamed ‘smokers’ by protesters, these are M99 grenades made by Serbian manufacturer Sloboda Ĉaĉak as well as M651 tear gas grenades and M713 smoke grenades manufactured by the Defense Industries Organization (DIO) of Iran.
Weighing around 250 grams, these grenades are up to 10 times heavier than standard tear gas canisters. Security forces in Baghdad have targeted these directly at groups of mainly peaceful protesters, with their very design maximizing horrific injury and death.
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