Sunni Muslims in Iraq are continuing their demonstrations against the Shia-led government which they accuse of marginalising them.
Thousands gathered on Sunday in Ramadi, 100km west of Baghdad, in Anbar Province, which has seen several days of protests.
The protests began on Friday with many demonstrators massing along a major highway near the city of Falujah in the country's north.
Al Jazeera's Omar el Saleh, reporting from Ramadia, said the protests had been triggered by the arrest 10 days ago of nine bodyguards of the finance minister, Rafie al-Issawi,in Baghdad.
"They're not only protesting against the arrest of the body guards; they're also now protesting against the imprisonment of Sunnis"
"They're not only protesting against the arrest of the body guards; they're also now protesting against the imprisonment of Sunnis ... They say the Sunnis have been targeted by the Shia-led government. So they're demanding the release of female prisoners; they're demanding the release of male prisoners and also they want an end to what they say is marginalisation and discrimination against Sunnis."
Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister, has denied all the allegations, saying they are not correct, said our correspondent.
The rallies appear to be the largest yet in a week of demonstrations, intensifying pressure on the Shia-led government.
During Friday's protests in the northern city of Mosul, around 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets to denounce what they called the sidelining of Sunnis.
As in protests earlier in the week, demonstrators there chanted the Arab Spring slogan: "The people want the downfall of the regime."
Thousands also took to the streets in the northern Sunni towns of Tikrit and Samarra, where they were joined by legislators and provincial officials, said Salahuddin provincial spokesman Mohammed al-Asi.
Many Sunnis accuse Maliki of marginalising the country's religious minority group by refusing to share power and depriving them of equal rights.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/12/201212308176248197.html
