Iraq cleric urges cabinet change as protesters regroup after crackdown

Iraq's top Shiite cleric on Friday urged parliament to replace the cabinet, after dozens of protesters were killed in one of the bloodiest days of anti-government rallies gripping the country.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's weekly sermon gave a major boost to Iraqi demonstrators who have been taking to the streets since early October against a ruling class deemed corrupt and inefficient.

The grassroots movement is the largest Iraq has seen in decades but also the deadliest, with nearly 400 people dead and more than 15,000 wounded in the capital and Shiite-majority south, according to an AFP tally.

For weeks, Sistani has called for restraint in dealing with demonstrators and has urged political parties get "serious" about reform, but he ramped up demands on Friday.

"The parliament, from which this current government is drawn, is asked to reconsider its choice in this regard," he said in the sermon delivered by a representative.

Within minutes, MP and former premier Haider al-Abadi called on lawmakers to convene Saturday for a "special session for a vote of no-confidence and to form a new independent government".

Lawmakers from parliament's largest bloc, Saeroon, said they would go to their offices on Friday, which is normally a day off, to plan an "immediate" no-confidence vote.

And Qais al-Khazaali, head of the powerful paramilitary faction Asaib Ahl al-Haq, tweeted: "Your commands will be ours, too."