Death toll raised to 42 in Iraq as Protests continue.

Iraqi security forces fired tear gas on Saturday to push back protesters who tried to remove blast walls erected on a bridge in central Baghdad to prevent anti-government rallies from reaching a heavily fortified government area, a day after violence claimed the death of 42, and more than 2000 wounded.

Initially, 30 were reported killed as Iraq was again engulfed in anti-government protests on Friday, but the death toll rose after a senior official said 12 protesters died in a fire they had started while storming the office of one of the parties during one of the rallies in the country’s south.

The Interior Ministry and the Iraqi military issued statements Saturday saying some protesters have exploited the rallies and attacked government buildings and political party offices.

The ministry said some of its members were killed as police engaged with the violent protesters but did not give a number. The military warned that it will take necessary measures under the law to deal with those it called saboteurs.

Iraqi police had fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live shots on Friday to break up protesters who had gathered at Tahrir Square and later tried to cross a bridge leading to the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters, including young men, gathered again in Tahrir Square and on the Jumhuriyya Bridge in Baghdad on Saturday, as heavy security forces deployed around the Iraqi capital.

Police also erected blast walls leading to the square. Young women appeared among the crowd for the first time, some handing out water to the protesters.

By the afternoon, men tried to remove the blast walls, prompting the security to fire tear gas pushing them back.

The rallies have mainly been by young, unemployed men who are protesting against the government and demanding jobs and better services.

Of the 42 killed on Friday, eight died in Baghdad.

A security official said protesters torched the offices of at least three parties in the southern province of Maysan.