The death toll from mass rallies in Iraq against corruption and unemployment rose to 18 on Thursday, as the leaderless protest movement spread to virtually all of the south.
Braving live fire, tear gas and local curfews, Iraqis flooded the streets for a third day in the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi.
The embattled premier ordered a ban on all movement across the capital starting at 5:00 am (0200 GMT), but dozens of protesters defied the order and gathered in Baghdad's emblematic Tahrir (Liberation) Square.
"We slept here so the police don't take the place," one demonstrator told AFP before riot police fired into the air in a bid to disperse them.
The protests began in Baghdad on Tuesday but have since spread to cities across the mainly Shiite south.
On Thursday, medics and security sources told AFP that four protesters were shot dead in the southern city of Amarah and another in the province of Dhi Qar.
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The new deaths bring the overall toll from three days of demonstrations to 18, including one police officer.
More than 600 protesters and security personnel have been wounded.
Tensions have been exacerbated by a near-total internet blackout, the closure of government offices in Baghdad and calls by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for "a general strike."
"The ability to preserve the right to protest is a sign of political and democratic maturity. Moreover, the use of force only fuels the anger," she said in a statement. "De-escalation is urgently needed."
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