Iraq President says he'd rather quit than designate PM nominee rejected by protesters

Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Thursday he would rather resign than designate Asaad Al-Eidani as Prime Ministerial candidate whose appointment would not placate anti-government protesters in the country.

Salih statement comes after a group of activists on Thursday rejected Al-Eidani's candidature, saying he was responsible for killing protesters in the Iraqi city of Basra, where he is the governor.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliament has suspended its session until further notice following Salih's rejection to assign al-Eidani to form the government, as per a report by Anadolu Agency.

Iraq has been gripped with nationwide protests since early October -- over poor living conditions and corruption in the country -- and had led to the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

At least 496 people have been killed and 17,000 injured since the beginning of the protests, according to Iraq's High Commission for Human Rights.