Twelve people were killed and 230 others injured in protests in Iraq over the past three days, the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq said Sunday, CNN reported.

Nine protesters were killed in the capital Baghdad and three others in the southern city of Nasiriyah, according to the statement.

Dozens of Iraqi security forces used live ammunition and tear gas as they worked to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters in al-Khalani Square, Baghdad, on Saturday, according to activists in the area.

More than 600 people have been killed in anti-government demonstrations that started in October, according to the IHCHR and Amnesty International.