Iraqis take to the streets in protest

Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets again yesterday in Basra, as authorities put security forces on high alert and blocked internet on the sixth day of protests in the country’s Shiite heartland.

The protests come at a delicate time as Iraq is in a limbo of sorts, awaiting the final results of a recount of the ballots from May’s national elections before a new government can be formed.

The elections, the fourth since the Us-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, saw the lowest turn out in 15 years and were marred with allegations of fraud and irregularities.