Iraqi security forces killed at least five people on Saturday, Reuters has reported.

The forces drove protesters back from some of the bridges they had tried to occupy during the week and toward Tahrir Square, the main gathering point for demonstrators.

Some demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails toward security forces at another bridge, and young men brought unlit homemade petrol bombs up a tower block nearby, preparing for further clashes.

Police and medics said five people were shot to death and more than 140 wounded in Baghdad.

The government promised reforms aimed at ending the crisis. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said on Saturday that political parties had “made mistakes” in their running of the country, recognized the legitimacy of protest to bring about political change and pledged electoral reform.

Mass protests began at Tahrir Square in Baghdad on Oct. 1 as demonstrators demanded jobs and services, and have swelled in the capital and southern cities with calls for an overhaul of the sectarian political system. Security forces have used lethal force since the start and killed more than 280 people across the country.