Iraqi forces battled militants in Fallujah on Monday as clashes spread to a second city after an anti-government protest camp was demolished, a police officer said.

Captain Omar Oda said militants burned several military vehicles.

Dr Assem al-Hamdani said 10 gunmen were wounded in the unrest in the city, west of Baghdad, which was one of the hubs of the insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003.

The clashes followed deadly violence in nearby Ramadi, where security forces killed 10 gunmen in fighting that broke out as they demolished a camp where Sunni Arab protesters had gathered for more than a year.

Protests broke out in Sunni Arab-majority areas of Iraq in December 2012 after the arrest of guards of then-finance minister Rafa al-Essawi, an influential Sunni Arab, on terrorism charges.

The demonstrations have tapped into longstanding grievances of Sunnis, who say they are marginalised by the government and unfairly targeted with heavy-handed tactics by security forces.

Iraq: a year of unrest and political crisis
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 30, 2013 - Iraq has seen an upturn in sectarian violence and protests in which more than 6,750 people have been killed in the past year.

Sunni Arabs, in a minority in Iraq, say they are being discriminated against and repressed by the Shiite-dominated government:

--2012--

- December 23: The start of major demonstrations in several provinces demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite accused by opponents of monopolising power and sidelining Sunnis.

Demonstrators demand the liberation of prisoners and reform of anti-terrorism laws. The action follows the arrest on terrorism charges of guards of then finance minister Rafa al-Essawi, a Sunni and member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc.

--2013--

- January 16: A wave of attacks across the country leaves 49 dead and 240 injured.

- February 8: Tens of thousands of Sunni demonstrators demand Maliki's ouster.

- February 28: The government says it has freed 4,000 prisoners since the beginning of 2013, in an apparent bid to placate protesters in Sunni areas.

- April 23: The beginning of a new wave of clashes which leave more than 240 dead in a week. The violence breaks out when security forces enter an area where Sunni demonstrations have been held since January near Hawijah, west of Kirkuk province's eponymous capital. Revenge attacks ensue on Iraqi forces.

- May 17: Bombs targeting Sunnis, including two near a mosque and one at a funeral procession, kill 67 people, after dozens died in two days of attacks on Shiites.

- July 21-22: Militants attack two Iraqi prisons, freeing hundreds of inmates in assaults, later claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked group, that cost more than 50 lives.

- August 10: Seventy-four are killed in a wave of attacks claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked group as Iraq marks the end of its deadliest Ramadan holy month in years.

- October 30-November 1: US President Barack Obama and Maliki, who is visiting Washington, vow to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq, after the resurgent group whips up violence nearly two years after the last US soldier left the country.

Bloodshed takes place on a daily basis, with attacks often focused on busy places like markets, cafes and mosques.

- December 21: Five senior officers, among them divisional commander Mohammed al-Karoui, and 10 other soldiers are killed during a raid against militants. Security forces then launch a major operation dubbed "Avenge the Leader Mohammed".

- December 28: Security forces arrest Ahmed al-Alwani, a Sunni MP who backs anti-government protesters, in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, sparking clashes that kill his brother and five guards.

- December 30: Deadly clashes erupt after forces clear Iraq's main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Ramadi. Forty-four MPs resign.