At least 25 people were killed after security forces opened fire with live ammunition and tear gas canisters to disperse anti-government protesters in the southern city of Nasiriya, medical sources and witnesses said. Authorities in the capital, Baghdad, dispatched troops to "restore order" in southern Iraq, which has seen massive protests for weeks, the military said in a statement on Thursday.
The Iraqi government fired the new military commander after the outbreak of deadly violence.
A source in the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office told Al Jazeera that Adel Abdul Mahdi ordered the dismissal of Lieutenant-General Jamil al-Shammari less than a day after he was named military commander to manage Dhi Qar province following the violent escalation in Nasiriya.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom reports from Baghdad.
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