Death toll in Iraq, Sistani protests calls for "real" reforms

The religious authority Ali al-Sistani called in the Friday sermon of the three Iraqi presidencies to conduct what he described as "real reform", and blamed the parliament for the delay.

Sistani added that the government and the political parties did not respond to the demands of the people and did not achieve anything on the ground.

He also called on political parties to change the way they deal with the problems in Iraq.

Sistani described the deaths during the recent protests in Iraq as sad, warning of what he described as serious repercussions of the use of violence against protesters.

Sistani said in his Friday sermon on behalf of his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala that the unrest "left dozens of victims and large numbers of wounded and wounded and a lot of damage to government institutions and others, in painful and very regrettable scenes."

"The government and the political forces have not responded to the people's demands to fight corruption or achieve anything on the ground."

"The House of Representatives, with its legislative and regulatory powers, bears the greatest responsibility in this area," he said.

Rising dead
Earlier in the day, Iraqi medical sources said the death toll of the protests in Iraq during the past days rose to 44, along with hundreds of wounded.

This morning, calm prevailed in most parts of the Iraqi capital, and members of the army and special forces in the main squares and streets under the curfew imposed by the government and violated by thousands of protesters yesterday.

But a number of protesters tried to gather in central Baghdad, where security forces confronted them with gunfire in the air to disperse the protesters.

Security forces were deployed in various cities, which have seen protests in recent days in anticipation of renewed after Friday prayers.

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Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called on Iraqi MPs to support cabinet changes away from political quotas.

He said his government had taken measures to hold corrupt people accountable, including dismissing 1,000 employees for corruption and wasting public money.

He added that the decision had been made to release detainees who had not committed criminal acts. Legal committees have also been formed to ensure that violence is not used against demonstrators.

Amnesty International today called on the Iraqi authorities to conduct an impartial and independent investigation into the killings of demonstrators by security personnel.

On Tuesday, a wave of violent protests began, along with Baghdad, to several cities across Iraq demanding better public services, jobs and corruption.