After attempts to break it up ... a strong return to protests in Baghdad, Nasiriyah, and Basra

Today, Sunday, several Iraqi cities witnessed a strong resurgence of demonstrations in the squares, and clashes between security forces and demonstrators.

In Dhi Qar Governorate (in the south of the country), more than eighty demonstrators were injured in Nasiriyah (the governorate center) after the police tried to open the intersection of the lobby, which was closed by protesters this morning.

Local sources in Dhi Qar also said that demonstrators managed to remove the riot police from the Nasr Bridge, and crossed the bridge leading to the Shamiya area, where there are important government and security headquarters.

The security forces used live bullets to confront the demonstrators and to try to disperse them from the streets surrounding the city's central Al-Haboubi Square.

In Baghdad, the Al-Jazeera correspondent indicated that a large number of demonstrators had arrived in Tahrir and Al-Khalani, where calm prevails after security attempts to break up the protests by force yesterday.

Earlier today, security forces used live bullets to disperse demonstrators in the Al-Khilani and Al-Wathba areas, near the protest center in Tahrir Square, in the center of the capital, according to a police source.

The security source said that at least 17 protesters were wounded, including six by gunfire.

On the other hand, the young protesters threw stones at riot police and threw Molotov cocktails at them.

And in the morning, student demonstrations started from the universities of Baghdad to Tahrir Square.

In the city of Basra (the far south of the country), the sit-in area witnesses a gathering of protesters after government forces dispersed them yesterday. Also, Najaf Governorate (south of Baghdad) witnessed demonstrations calling for political reform and fighting corruption.

dead and wounded
In a statement released today, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission said that 12 protesters were killed and 230 others injured during two days of protests.

The Commission called on all parties to exercise restraint and to maintain the peaceful demonstrations in Baghdad and other cities.

In the statement, it expressed its regret and deep concern at the events that accompanied the demonstrations that led to the deaths and injuries of the demonstrators and the security forces, considering it a "flagrant violation of human rights."

The Human Rights Commission indicated the killing of 12 demonstrators in the governorates of Baghdad and Dhi Qar (three of them in the last), pointing out that the injuries included 118 in Baghdad, 78 in Dhi Qar, and 34 in Basra. She also spoke of 89 arrests of demonstrators in Baghdad and Basra.

And Iraq has witnessed since the first of last October, a protest movement - calling for political and economic reforms and an amendment to the constitution - that left hundreds of dead and thousands of wounded.

The protesters call for early elections under a new electoral law, and they demand an independent prime minister and accountability for the "corrupt" officials who have ordered the use of violence against the demonstrators.