Clashes intensified Friday across Iraq as protesters swarmed streets and clashed with police in an uptick in violence that has left 44 dead including six security forces in the past four days. Security forces said "unidentified snipers" had killed four people including two police in Baghdad, and AFP journalists reported hearing rapid automatic rifle fire across the capital in what appeared to be the most chaotic day of protests yet.

Earlier on Friday, Iraq's Shia spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani urged authorities to heed the demands of demonstrators, warning the protests could escalate unless immediate and clear steps are taken.

Sistani, who is revered among Iraq's Shia majority, appeared to pile new pressure on Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi as he battles to quell the unrest.

In his first speech since protests began Tuesday, the premier appealed for patience from the young unemployed who have formed the mainstay of the protests, saying his not yet year-old government needs more time to implement reforms.

But despite his plea, a curfew and an internet blackout, Iraqis thronged the iconic Tahrir Square on Friday and clashed with the anti-riot police, AFP reporters said.

Security forces opened up with a barrage of gunfire and reporters said they saw several people hit by bullets, some in the head and the stomach.

"We're not infiltrators," protesters in the capital shouted, responding to accusations from Iraqi officials that "aggressors" were behind the protests. Bullets whizzed through streets aimed at crowds of protesters whose numbers bulged as more trucks arrived.

Demonstrator Sayyed told AFP the protests would continue "until the government falls". Sistani urged the government to take "clear and practical steps" and act now "before it's too late" to address popular grievances.

After his sermon, parliament announced that it would dedicate Saturday's session "to examining the demands of the protesters".

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019