Anger mixes with mourning in Iraq's Nassiriya

Mock coffins and a mile-long march on Friday (December 6), to commemorate those slain here in the southern Iraqi town of Nassiriya over the past two months of protests.

Last Thursday (November 28) was the bloodiest day. Before dawn, on a nearby bridge, Iraqi forces gunned down 46 people, according to police and medics.

Nassiriya is Iraq's fourth city and one of its poorest.

The deaths have fuelled anger against the state and the Iran-backed parties and militias that dominate it.

Witnesses say the violence lasted nearly two hours.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOURNER, KHAZAAL SAHLANI, SAYING:

"He went out to demand his rights, his legitimate rights, like work, a decent living, to be comfortable in this country. He walked out with an Iraqi flag in his hands, only to be faced with live fire by the security forces. This march is symbolic for Iraq, and especially for Nassiriya - the city of martyrs, the city of the revolutionaries."

Those clashes were the single deadliest event since protests broke out in Baghdad on October 1st, demanding the departure of a corrupt elite and an overhaul of the political system.

Paramedics described scores of lethal wounds from live fire against unarmed protesters.

Iraq's government denies its forces shoot demonstrators and blames unidentified saboteurs.

Activists in Nassiriya, home to powerful southern Shi'ite tribes, now control main thoroughfares and bridges in the city.

These deaths, they say, have only strengthened their resolve.