Iraqi demonstrators march towards Green Zone in Baghdad as top cleric urges calm

Iraq’s top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who in recent weeks has criticized the government’s handling of the protests, urged calm on all sides during his sermon on Friday.

At least one protester has died and more than 200 were wounded in the latest disturbances, Reuters reported.

The authorities have struggled to address protesters’ grievances since sometimes violent unrest erupted in Baghdad on October 1, spreading to southern cities. Demonstrators blame corrupt officials and political elites for failing to improve their lives.

Hundreds of people made attempts in the morning to march towards Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, when they were stopped by security forces.