Iraqi cleric Sadr says government should reform or resign

Iraq’s government should stop oppressing its citizens, initiate reforms or face removal, prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said in a statement.

"Resign before you are obliged to do so, or reform before you are removed,” al-Sadr said. He said protests in the country had succeeded in putting pressure on the corrupt.

At least 42 people were killed on Friday as protests continue in Baghdad and elsewhere in the country over unemployment, government corruption and a lack of basic services.