Shafaq News/ The number of victims of demonstrations in Iraq has risen, parliamentary human rights officials committee said on Sunday.

"So far 319 protesters and security forces have been killed," the commission said in a brief statement received by Shafaq News.

Demonstrators dropped a concrete block in Baghdad's central al-Khalani Square on Sunday, a security source said.

The source told Shafaq News that "demonstrators dropped one of the concrete blocks in al-Khalani Square," indicating that "riot police responded by firing tear gas heavily."

It is noteworthy that the security forces closed the entrances and exits of al-Khalani Square with concrete blocks to prevent the demonstrators from reaching Al-Senak ,al- Ahrar and al-Shuhadaa bridges.

The security forces are trying to keep the demonstrators inside Tahrir Square, in the center of the capital, Baghdad, according to a security source.

The Iraqi government has failed to find a way out of its biggest challenge in years. The unrest broke the relative calm that followed the defeat of Islamic State in 2017.

The government says it is carrying out reforms without offering anything that would satisfy most protesters. For many Iraqis, the government's pledges to provide salaries to the poor and provide more job opportunities for graduates came too late.

Protesters, mostly unemployed youths, blame the political elite that has ruled Iraq since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in the US-led invasion in 2003 and demand a full overhaul of the political system.