Thousands Rally Against Iraqi Prime Minister

Demonstrations have swept Sunni-majority areas of Iraq for two weeks.(file photo)

Thousands of Sunni Muslims have taken to the streets of Baghdad and other parts of Iraq in another demonstration of discontent with Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Reports say protests were held on January 11 in Baghdad's mostly-Sunni districts of Adhamiyah and Ghazaliyah, as well as the cities of Ramadi, Samarra, Falluja, Mosul, and Tikrit.

In the western province of Anbar, protesters blocked off a highway linking Iraq to Syria and Jordan for a 20th day.

In the Shi’ite city of Najaf, meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators called for the government to resist calls to reform antiterror legislation.

Demonstrations have swept Sunni-majority areas of Iraq for two weeks.

Protesters say al-Maliki's government persecutes the country's Sunni Muslim minority.

They are calling for the release of prisoners and the reform of antiterror legislation.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP