It has not been immediately clear how the policeman was killed amid conflicting reports.

Dozens of people were injured as security forces fired live ammunitions and gas bombs to disperse the protesters, local sources said.

Meanwhile, Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) called on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi to manage security file in Thi Qar.

“The Commission has monitored, through its monitoring teams, the current events in Thi Qar governorate during the past two days, in which it documented cases of assassinations, kidnappings, and clashes between demonstrators and security forces where the security forces used tear gas, live and rubber bullets, and protesters used stones against the security forces, as the number of injuries reached ( 43) of the demonstrators and security forces and the assassination of (2), followed by a campaign of arrests carried out by the security forces against activists and demonstrators, where (30) demonstrators were arrested, including a journalist,” the commission said.

“While the Commission affirms the citizen's right to freedom of expression, peaceful demonstration, security and safety, the IHCHR calls on all parties to calm and exercise restraint, to give priority to the language of dialogue instead of violence, and to work together to preserve the security of the province and the rights of its people,” it added.