Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi has mandated Interior Minister Yassin al-Yasiri to deal with the issue of demonstrations, government sources said on Wednesday.
"Abd al-Mahdi authorized the new Interior Minister Yassin al-Yasiri to deal with the demonstrations next Friday, in a way that preserves security across the nation," sources said.
"Ammar al-Hakim is expected to fail in mobilizing his supporters; however, the government has to secure the area surrounding the demonstration he is calling for," the sources added.
They pointed out that "the process of transferring demonstrators from one area to another by movement requires high security coordination so as not to risk being exposed to a terrorist attack."