Hundreds of Iraqis angry at poor public services rioted in the town of Samawa south of Baghdad today and police opened fire on the crowd, hitting at least eight people.
One man appeared to have been killed, witnesses said.
Residents of the normally calm, mainly Shi'ite town burned vehicles, including a police car, just outside the governor's office and demanded his resignation, the witnesses said.
Police in riot gear held up plastic shields as protesters hurled rocks. Armed police stood on the roof of the governorate.
Iraq's new Shi'ite-led government took power in January elections promising to end guerrillas violence and restore public services. But frustrations are running high with electricity shortages and high unemployment.
The Shi'ite south was ill-favoured under former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated rule and hopes were high after his overthrow by invading US forces, and then the election of a Shi'ite-led government, that life would improve.
Daily life, however, remains hard for most and the Sunni insurgency further north continues to disrupt Iraq's economy.
Protesters took to the streets of Samawa last month because they could not get jobs in the police force, a highly dangerous profession in a country where insurgents have killed thousands of Iraqi soldiers and police.
Samawa and other Shi'ite towns have been relatively stable compared to central Iraq, plagued by suicide bombings, shootings and kidnappings. About 550 Japanese troops engaged in civil engineering projects are based in Samawa.
They are protected by nearby Australian combat troops since the Japanese government has promised voters that the controversial deployment will not involve combat. There was no sign of foreign troops in the town during today's rioting.