Sunni Muslims in Iraq are continuing their demonstrations against the Shia-led government which they accuse of marginalising them. Thousands gathered on Sunday in Ramadi, 100km west of Baghdad, in Anbar Province, which has seen several days of protests. The protests began on Friday with many demonstrators massing along a major highway near the city of Falujah in the country’s north. Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister, has denied all the allegations, saying they are not correct, said our correspondent. The rallies appear to be the largest yet in a week of demonstrations, intensifying pressure on the Shia-led government. During Friday’s protests in the northern city of Mosul, around 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets to denounce what they called the sidelining of Sunnis. As in protests earlier in the week, demonstrators there chanted the Arab Spring slogan: “The people want the downfall of the regime.” Thousands also took to the streets in the northern Sunni towns of Tikrit and Samarra, where they were joined by legislators and provincial officials, said Salahuddin provincial spokesman Mohammed al-Asi. Many Sunnis accuse Maliki of marginalising the country’s religious minority group by refusing to share power and depriving them of equal rights.
