By Xinhua
Baghdad : A curfew, promulgated in the Iraqi capital Thursday till Sunday morning, has been extended indefinitely, state television Al-Iraqiya reported.
The curfew has been extended after violent clashes continued in the Iraqi capital and elsewhere between Shia fighters and security forces.
“The Baghdad military command has decided to extend the curfew in the Iraqi capital for an indefinite period,” the TV report said Sunday.
According to reports, curfew has been imposed in six southern provinces, including Basra.
Mortar and rocket fires continued to hit Baghdad, including the Green Zone, which hosts Iraqi government facilities and the US embassy. At least one civilian was killed and three injured in the rocket barrage.
On Thursday, thousands of supporters of the radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets, demanding the government to stop attacking Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia and release its detained members.
However, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed that the offensive will continue.