Four Iraqi parliamentarians resigned on Sunday in anger at the government's perceived failure to respond to mass protests, piling more pressure on embattled Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. Rallies demanding an overhaul of the ruling regime have rocked Iraq this month, defying live rounds, tear gas and other violence that have left more than 200 dead.

Parliament's only two Communist lawmakers, Raed Fahmy and Haifa al-Amin, quit the body "in support of the peaceful, popular movement," they said in a statement. "We are resigning because of the protests and the way they were repressed," Fahmy told AFP. "In 27 days, parliament has done nothing: it could not hold the prime minister nor the interior minister accountable" for reported violations by security forces, he said.

Their statement called on the government to resign and for early elections under a new voting system. Two other lawmakers, Taha al-Difai and Muzahem al-Tamimi, also resigned on Sunday. Both belong to the list of former premier Haider al-Abadi. The 329-seat parliament has been in crisis since the protests began on October 1.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019