A protestor in Iraq tried to set fire to himself in northern Iraq yesterday.
It is thought that this is the first self-immolation in the country in relation to protests aimed at Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki.
The man suffered burns in the city of Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad. He was named locally as Talal Al Abbas. Fellow protestors, who have gathered in the central square for over a month, extinguished the flames.
The rallies have lasted almost a month as Sunni Muslims provide the strongest criticism of the Shia-led government so far.
The protestors feel that they are being marginalised by the Maliki government, and are asking for people to be released who have been arrested under counter terrorism laws.
The continuing protests have led to fears that Iraq could be slipping back to sectarian strife that it witnessed after the 2003 invasion by the United States and recent months have seen a surge in such attacks across the country.
The Anbar province, to the west of Baghdad has become the heart of the protests, which were sparked by the arrest of the Sunni Finance Minister’s bodyguards.
