The United States urged Iraqi authorities to hold early polls and carry out electoral reforms and called for an end to the violence that has left hundreds of protesters dead, AFP reported.
Washington wants "the Iraqi government to halt the violence against protesters and fulfil President (Barham) Saleh's promise to pass electoral reform and hold early elections," the White House said in a statement Sunday.
"The United States is seriously concerned by continued attacks against protestors, civic activists and the media, as well as restrictions on internet access, in Iraq," it said.
Mass rallies calling for an overhaul of the ruling system have rocked the capital Baghdad and the Shiite-majority south since October 1, but political forces closed ranks this week to defend the government.
In a televised address last month, Saleh had proposed an early vote after reforms, but the suggestion seems to have been widely rejected by Iraq's political class.
Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi cast them as unrealistic and even firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr, who first demanded snap elections supervised by the United Nations last month, has gone silent.
In a meeting on Sunday amon...
Read full story
