Iraq has suspended the licenses of 10 satellite TV channels for promoting “sectarianism,” the country’s media regulator said yesterday, as more than 215 people were killed in the past six days.

The bloody unrest, which began yesterday with deadly clashes between security forces and Sunni Arab anti-government protesters in north Iraq, has raised fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict that plagued the country in the past and killed tens of thousands.

“We took a decision to suspend the license of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,” Mujahid Abu Al-Hail, a top official in the Communications and Media Commission, told AFP. “It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around,” Hail said.

The suspensions include Al-Jazeera, the main broadcaster in the Arab world, and Sharqiya, a leading channel in Iraq.

“The fact that so many channels have been hit all at once ... suggests this is an indiscriminate decision,” an Al-Jazeera spokesman said.

“We urge the authorities to uphold freedom for the media to report the important stories taking place in Iraq,” the spokesman said.

Al-Maliki said on Saturday that sectarian strife “came back to Iraq, because it began in another place in this region,” in an apparent reference to Syria.