BAGHDAD — In the bloody aftermath of street protests that turned violent on Friday in Falluja, Iraq’s Parliament passed a law on Saturday intended to prevent Prime Minister 
Nuri Kamal al-Maliki from seeking a third term.

The parliamentary move was the latest threat to Mr. Maliki’s hold on power and reflected rising anger among rivals over his leadership, but it appeared unlikely that the law, which would need to approved by Iraq’s president, would ever go into effect.
Mr. Maliki’s coalition in Parliament boycotted the vote, and an official close to the prime minister called it unconstitutional and vowed to appeal to the federal courts, which on paper are independent but in practice bend to Mr. Maliki’s will.
Sami al-Askari, a lawmaker from Mr. Maliki’s coalition, said the law would “not see the light of day” because, he said, it is unconstitutional. “We are not worried about the vote on this law,” Mr. Askari said.
The vote came after weeks of protests in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar resulted in violence on Friday, when the Shiite-led government’s security forces opened fire, leaving at least seven protesters in Falluja dead.
Dueling scenes that played out on Saturday — the hundreds of mourners who hoisted the coffins of dead protesters in the streets of Falluja and the lawmakers in Baghdad who cast votes in an attempt to limit the power of the prime minister — encapsulated the prevailing features of Iraqi public life after the long and costly American war: sectarianism, violence and political dysfunction.
Both events nudged Iraq further along the path of political instability before provincial elections in April, which will be the first test of Iraq’s fragile democracy at the voting booth since the departure of American forces at the end of 2011.
On Saturday, a curfew that had gone into effect on Friday in Falluja was lifted and, as the army withdrew from the city, one soldier was killed by sniper fire and another was wounded, according to a security official in Anbar. As mourners in Falluja shouted, “The blood of our people will not be lost in vain,” protesters set fire to an army checkpoint.
During the clashes on Friday, two soldiers were killed, and later three off-duty soldiers were kidnapped by gunmen and remained missing on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.
Mr. Maliki earned his second term as prime minister after a divisive political struggle and inconclusive elections in 2010, and it is not clear if he intends to seek a third term in 2014, when the next parliamentary elections are scheduled.
Last year, rivals unsuccessfully sought to oust Mr. Maliki from power through a vote of no confidence in Parliament.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/01/2013126102141482997.html

Fallujah erupts in protest after funerals

Hundreds of demonstrators block main highway leading to Sunni Iraqi city day after five killed in army shooting.
Last Modified: 26 Jan 2013 11:57
Mourners hoisted caskets and waved Iraqi flags while shouting "Allahu Akbar"! or God is great [AFP]
Hundreds of anti-government protesters have blocked the main highway leading to the the Iraqi city of Fallujah, a day after at least five people were killed in troops firing.
The protesters gathered in central Fallujah on Saturday for the funeral of those killed in the shooting. Mourners hoisted caskets and waved Iraqi flags while shouting "Allahu Akbar"! or God is great.
At the protest, the latest in a series of demonstrations against the government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, shouts of "Listen Maliki, we are free people" were followed by "Take your lesson from Bashar," a reference to Bashar al-Assad, president of Syria.
The blocking of the highway, which runs to neighbouring Jordan, led to the deployment of federal police. The police presence comes as a bid by the ministry of defence to defuse the situation.
Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad, said the protests were only the latest in "a tense situation" around the country.
Friday's deaths in the predominantly Sunni town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, were the first since protests began last month against alleged targeting of the Sunni minority community by the Shia-led authorities.
Iraqi PM calls for restraint
"I will not be satisfied with compensation provided by the defence ministry," said Ali Khalaf al-Ani, whose son Omar was killed on Friday, referring to an offer for financial compensation by Baghdad.
"I want my son alive -- that is my demand!"
Maliki called for restraint by security forces in a statement issued by his office, but also said that soldiers had been attacked in the first place.
"This is what al-Qaeda and terrorist groups are seeking to exploit," he said.
He also blamed "conspiracies" propagated by the intelligence agencies of neighbouring countries, supporters of now-executed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, and al-Qaeda.
The defence ministry has promised an investigation into the killings.
Our correspondent said "The sunni minority who used to have great positions of power say ... they now feel they have no role in the future of Iraq".