Baghdad. (Reuters) .- Hundreds of people demonstrated in Sulaymaniyah, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, calling for political reforms in a system controlled by two dominant parties. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, about 1,000 people have requested improvements for orphans and widows. In Sulaimaniyah, the protest has been fueled by the death of two protesters who were killed on Thursday by armed militia of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Protesters have demanded an official apology to the Government. "There are a variety of injuries. Some were hit by stones and others were beaten," said a medical source told Reuters. In total there were about 12 wounded, including police, the clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
A second demonstration at the University of Sulaimaniyah also hundreds of students gathered to condemn the KDP and calling for political reform. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, more than a thousand women and children, widows and orphans, have come to ask the Government most attention for this group.
"Raise your voices and demand your rights," chanted the crowd. "I ask the Maliki government to pay more attention to the poor orphans who have lost their parents, for the sake of this country," said one protester, Raghad Mahmud, who marched along with his nephew, who lost his father in a car bombing in 2008.
"We live in a rich country that does not want to see their orphans. Orphans of Iraq have the right to a dignified life, but this is not true," said the woman. The demonstration passed peacefully in the central district of Mansur with a strong military and police deployment and disbanded without incident after an hour. 
Protesters have demanded an official apology to the Government. "There are a variety of injuries. Some were hit by stones and others were beaten," said a medical source told Reuters. In total there were about 12 wounded, including police, the clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
A second demonstration at the University of Sulaimaniyah also hundreds of students gathered to condemn the KDP and calling for political reform. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, more than a thousand women and children, widows and orphans, have come to ask the Government most attention for this group.
"Raise your voices and demand your rights," chanted the crowd. "I ask the Maliki government to pay more attention to the poor orphans who have lost their parents, for the sake of this country," said one protester, Raghad Mahmud, who marched along with his nephew, who lost his father in a car bombing in 2008.
"We live in a rich country that does not want to see their orphans. Orphans of Iraq have the right to a dignified life, but this is not true," said the woman. The demonstration passed peacefully in the central district of Mansur with a strong military and police deployment and disbanded without incident after an hour.
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