Dhi Qar police block Husseini convoy from joining Nasiriyah procession over Tishreen images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Police in Iraq's Dhi Qar province barred a Husseini procession registered for more than five years from joining an annual Husseini march in central Nasiriyah during the Muslim month of Muharram, local security sources said. The sources said the Dhi Qar police command excluded the convoy from the procession planned for Friday at al-Habubi Square in central Nasiriyah because participants carried photographs of those killed during the Tishreen protests. The convoy, which operates under the Dhi Qar Husseini Processions Institution, had completed all annual registration and permit requirements, the sources added. The same sources said the convoy was also refused entry by the Dhi Qar Husseini Processions Institution, which declined to issue a participation permit. The decision was tied specifically to the Tishreen martyr images being displayed by the convoy, according to the security sources. The ban has become a point of controversy in Nasiriyah as Muharram mourning activities intensify in the southern Iraqi city.