Iraqi Shiites protest against PM

Baghdad: Tens of thousands of Shiites in Iraq took to the streets to protest the government's crackdown against militias in Basra, as heavy fighting between security forces and gunmen continued for a third day.

There has been increasing anger directed against Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, himself a Shiite, who has been orchestrating a military operation against Shiite militias dominated by radical cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, amid a violent power struggle in Basra.

Demonstrators in Baghdad called Al Maliki the “new dictator'' and carried a coffin bearing his picture. People also gathered in Sadr City chanting slogans against the government.