UPDATE 2 - 2 killed as pro-Sadr protests turn violent in Iraq

*UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Amir al-Saadi

BAGHDAD (AA) – Two people were killed on Saturday when security forces dispersed a rally staged by supporters of firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the capital Baghdad to demand the dissolution of the country’s election commission.

Thousands of protesters gathered in central Baghdad on Saturday as part of demonstrations called by the Shia leader to demand the formation of a new electoral panel.

Security forces opened fire to disperse protesters attempting to march on Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, which houses government institutions and foreign embassies, according to eyewitnesses.

One protester was reportedly killed and scores were injured, the witnesses said.

The Baghdad operations command, for its part, said in a statement one policeman was killed and seven others were injured when protesters opened fire on security forces.

Al-Sadr has called for protests with a view to changing the election panel, who says its members were not suited to hold fair elections in Iraq.

Iraqi legislative elections are slated for April of next year.

For the past year, al-Sadr’s supporters have staged numerous protests in Baghdad in an effort to pressure Prime Minister Hayder al-Abadi to appoint a government of "technocrats" untainted by corruption or sectarian affiliations.

In a dramatic turn of events last summer, thousands of al-Sadr loyalists stormed Iraq’s parliament -- located in the Green Zone -- to press home their demands.

In mid-2015, parliament approved a sweeping raft of reforms ostensibly aimed at meeting popular demands to eliminate government corruption and streamline state bureaucracy.