Iraq’s Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, will stop down, the prime minister’s office announced Friday afternoon.
Abdul Mahdi made the decision to resign after a leading Shi’ite Muslim cleric demanded a change in leadership at Friday prayers, as the number of protesters killed in clashes with security forces continues to rise.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the top Shi’ite cleric in Iraq – a country roughly 65% Shi’ite Muslim – on Friday condemned the government’s use of force against protesters, and called on Iraqi lawmakers to drop their support for the government.
According to a report by Reuters, at least 408 people have been killed in the anti-government protests which began in October, with most of the dead being unarmed demonstrators.