UPDATE: Shia leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani endorses Iraqi protesters as PM Adil Abdul Mahdi battles to quell deadly unrest
Iraqi security forces fired on protesters gathering in Baghdad for the fourth day of demonstrations — against corruption, unemployment, and poor public services — which have left 44 people dead while top spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani called on the government to heed protesters' demands.
In escalating protests since Tuesday, thousands of demonstrators have clashed with riot police and troops in the capital and cities across the south, leaving at least 44 people dead, two of them police officers. It also comes on the eve of the Arbaeen Shia pilgrimage, when as many as 20 million worshippers are expected to journey for days on foot across southern Iraq in the world's biggest annual gathering, 10 times the size of the Mecca Hajj.
Sistani said the government needed to act now "before it's too late" to address popular grievances or the protests would simply intensify. In Abdul Mahdi's first public address since the protests began, the embattled premier made a televised speech early on Friday as heavy gunfire rang out across Baghdad.
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