Anti-government demonstrations, bereaved in early October by more than 150 dead, resumed in Iraq on Thursday night, on the eve of the expected mobilization of many supporters of the turbulent Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Thursday that the people were free to demonstrate, but warned that violence would not be tolerated.

"A resignation from the government today, without a constitutional alternative, would lead the country to chaos," he said in a televised speech.

All security forces were put on alert on Thursday evening by the government of Adel Abdel Mahdi, who arrived just a year ago in power.

In the face of the police, Moqtada al-Sadr intends to put all his weight in the protest movement which denounces the corruption of the leaders and claims jobs and functional services in a country rich in oil, but in chronic shortage of electricity and drinking water.

The former militia leader who became the herald of the anti-corruption protesters called on his supporters to demonstrate and asked his fighters to be ready to "protect the protesters", raising fears of further violence.

In early October, 157 people were killed, mostly protesters, according to an official report.

"All thieves"

Cries of "All thieves", hundreds of people demonstrated on the iconic Tahrir Square in Baghdad, which was in early October the epicenter of the dispute.

In Nassiriya, 300 kilometers further south, protesters called for "sit-ins until the fall of the regime".

The demonstrations should swell Friday morning. And in the afternoon, they will be joined by supporters of Moqtada Sadr, winner of the legislative elections and part of the government coalition, who demanded the resignation of the cabinet and early elections in the Shiite majority country.

The government can still count on the powerful Hachd al-Shaabi, a paramilitary coalition dominated by pro-Iran Shiite militias - the second bloc in parliament and a member of the governing coalition.

Several of his leaders have told him in recent days their "confidence".

On Tuesday, the authorities released their investigation report on the violence that did not convince the political class and stoked the anger of the street.

"Excessive" use of force

They accuse the forces of the order of "excessive" use of force, but do not solve the question of "unidentified shooters". According to the report, 70% of the dead were affected in the head or torso.

Before the new demonstrations, the UN mission in Iraq called on the government to "draw lessons" from early October and "take concrete steps to prevent violence". MPs and politicians called for "protecting" protesters.

As at the beginning of October, the calls for demonstrations concern most of the southern provinces, Shiite and tribal, and not the north and west of the country.

In the north and west, mostly Sunni and resumed two years ago at the Islamic State Organization (IEO), no one marched, militants saying fear to be repressed and accused of "terrorism" or " support for the former regime of Saddam Hussein ", two labels already attached to the demonstrators by their detractors.

With AFP