Baghdad ( CNN ) -- At least five people were injured when bodyguards for a top Iraqi official opened fire on stone-throwing Sunni demonstrators Sunday , the country 's interior ministry said . The clashes broke out after Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq arrived to address crowds protesting in a plaza in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi . Tens of thousands of demonstrators have been there for nearly a week , demanding that the Shiite-led government stop what they call second-class treatment of Iraq 's Sunni residents . Some demonstrators Sunday called for al-Multaq , who is Sunni , to submit his resignation to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki 's government . Protesters chanted , `` Leave ! Leave ! '' and threw stones at him , witnesses told CNN . The deputy prime minister 's bodyguards opened fire in an attempt to disperse the crowd as protesters hurled stones at the stage , Anbar provincial council member Suhaib al-Rawi told CNN . A protester with a gunshot wound was among five people injured , al-Rawi said . Details about the other injuries were not immediately clear . Sunnis largely boycotted Iraq 's 2005 elections , leading to the emergence of a Shiite-led government . The move left the once-ruling minority disaffected , which contributed to years of bloody insurgency and sectarian warfare . The arrest of a group of bodyguards for Iraq 's Sunni finance minister fueled a surge in protests last week in Ramadi , about 110 km ( 70 miles ) west of Baghdad , and in several other Iraqi cities . On Friday , protesters carrying flags dating back to the Saddam Hussein regime took to the streets in the predominately Sunni Anbar province , blocking a vital highway that connects Iraq with Syria and Jordan . The demonstrations were called by tribal leaders and Sunni scholars , protesting against what they decried as unjust practices of Maliki 's government . Protesters demanded the release of detainees they said were held without charges . They called the government corrupt and accused it of unfairly targeting Iraq 's Sunni community . `` We do n't want your food , your water and your medicine , '' one scholar told the crowd . `` We want our rights , our dignity . '' In the wake of the protests , al-Maliki has defended his government . `` Nobody in Iraq has privilege over others , '' he said Friday , calling for increased dialogue . `` When we want to express an opinion , we have to do it in a civilized , humane and patriotic manner , '' he said . `` It is not expected to express your opinion by cutting off roads , steering strife and sectarianism , fighting , bragging about wars and dividing Iraq . '' CNN 's Mohammed Lazim reported from Baghdad , Salma Abdelaziz and Yousuf Basil wrote the story in Atlanta . Catherine Schoichet and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report .
Violence break out after Iraq 's deputy prime minister arrives to address protesters . Some demonstrators called for him to resign and threw stones at the stage , witnesses said . The violence ends after nearly a week of violence . Sunni demonstrators say the government is treating them like second - class citizens .