Iraq readies for 'Day of Rage'

Baghdad was readying for what organisers have dubbed a "Day of Rage" on Friday after Nuri al-Maliki warned protesters to avoid rallies he said were being organised by "Saddamists" and insurgents.

The Iraqi premier\'s harsh remarks, calling on demonstrators to stay away from protests he claimed were orchestrated by Al-Qaeda insurgents and loyalists of the country\'s former dictator, were the latest attempt by authorities to head off what is expected to be a massive rally.

A city-wide vehicle curfew imposed from midnight until further notice was in full effect Friday morning, as few cars could be seen on Baghdad\'s streets and soldiers at checkpoints refused to allow any to pass, though pedestrians were allowed to travel freely.

The ban was criticised by press watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which noted that the rules meant television channels would not be able to station their satellite trucks near the protests and thus not be able to carry live broadcasts of the demonstrations.

Organisers, meanwhile, dismissed Maliki\'s calls and insisted the rally would go ahead at Baghdad\'s own Tahrir Square, which shares the name of the central Cairo site where Egyptians rallied to overthrow president Hosni Mubarak.

The protests are expected to unite a disparate group of causes, from those railing against poor public services to others demanding broader political reforms.

"I call upon you... not to participate in tomorrow\'s demonstration," Maliki said on Thursday.

His remarks were stronger than those of Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta, who said on Tuesday that officials were wary of the protests being infiltrated by insurgents bent on wreaking havoc.

Maliki insisted he was not preventing protesters from taking part in the rally, but cited security concerns and claimed the protest\'s organisers were tied to the regime of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda insurgents.

"You can hold these demonstrations at any time or place you want, except for the place and time of a demonstration which Saddamists, terrorists and Al-Qaeda are behind," he said.

"Based on information we have, there are known factions... trying to jump on these legal demands and turn them in another direction that we certainly do not want."

Friday\'s protests, which have been scheduled for several weeks, have been billed by some as Iraq\'s own "Day of Rage," referring to similar ones in Egypt that eventually led to Mubarak\'s resignation.

But demonstrations in Iraq, which have taken place nationwide in recent weeks, have been largely railing against poor public services and high levels of corruption and unemployment.

"None of us are Al-Qaeda or Saddamists," Shuruq al-Abayachi, the director of the Iraqi Women\'s Centre and one of the protest\'s organisers, said following the speech.

"All of us are nationalists calling for services, an end to corruption and for reforms to the political system."

Along with being rated the fourth-most corrupt country in the world by Transparency International, Iraq also suffers from poor electricity and water provision. Also, unemployment remains high because the country\'s main income generator, oil production, is not labour intensive.

The protests have so far left five people dead in recent weeks, the majority in rallies in the autonomous Kurdish region, and more than 100 injured.

Friday\'s rally, in keeping with similar protests across the region, has largely been organised on social networking website Facebook by groups such as "Iraqi Revolution of Rage" and "Change, Liberty and a Real Democracy."

In a bid to head off the protests, Iraq has slashed politicians\' pay, increased funds dedicated to food for the needy and delayed a planned law that would raise import tariffs and, thus, prices of goods in markets.