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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.
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