Iraqi government launches ‘bone-breaking battle’

Sunni protesters want the Shia Muslim-led government to abolish ‘sectarian’ anti-terrorism laws Iraq’s Interior Ministry has today launched a “bone-breaking battle” against anti-government demonstrators, after accusing them of inciting sectarianism. The latest demonstrations which began on Friday have continued to rock the capital city of Baghdad, the northern city of Mosul and the central city of Fallujah. Protesters, mainly Sunni, are demanding the release of prisoners and the abolition of allegedly sectarian policies.
Many demonstrators are calling for an end to what they see as the marginalisation of Iraq's Sunni minority, which dominated the country until the US-led invasion in 2003.
They want the Shia Muslim-led government to abolish anti-terrorism laws they say are used to persecute them.
In a statement released today, the country’s Interior Ministry said:  “The only beneficiary of these escalating protests are terrorists who have set out to incite hatred and sectarianism. Their aim is to destroy the unity of the country.”
The statement went on to say that it would deal with demonstrators “with force and rigour”.
Meanwhile, speaking in the southern city of Basra today, the country’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a scathing attack on anti-government protesters demanding the release of detainees, accusing them of “seeking to whitewash al-Qaeda and the Baath Party.”
He warned all those calling for the removal of anti-terrorism laws, to be punished for “provoking sectarianism.”