Protesters clash with officers as unrest intensifies
BAGHDAD — Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets for the sixth day on Sunday in the southern oil-rich province of Basra, as authorities put security forces on high alert and blocked the internet in the country’s Shiite heartland.
The protests come at a sensitive time as Iraq awaits the final results of a partial recount of the ballots from May’s national elections before a new government can be formed. The elections, the fourth since the U.S.led invasion that toppled ruler Saddam Hussein, saw the lowest turnout in 15 years and were marred with allegations of fraud and irregularities.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the local government building and closed the roads leading to major oil fields north and west of Basra city, activist Laith Hussein said. Security forces guarding the government building opened fire, causing some protesters to disperse, he added.
Elsewhere in Basra, protesters forced authorities to close the vital Um Qasr port on the Persian Gulf, planning to march to the border crossings with Kuwait and Iran, he added.
The two main border crossings — Safwan with Kuwait and Shalamcheh with Iran — have been closed both to passengers and goods, a senior official with the Border Crossings Directorate told the Associated Press.
Basra police fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters, said Sadiq Saleh, one of the demonstrators.
“I will not leave my place here until I get all my rights,” said the 35-year-old who has been out of work for the past three years. “The government lies to us, they always give us such promises and we get nothing.”
There were also similar protests Saturday in Baghdad. Hundreds poured into Baghdad’s Tahrir Square and the eastern Shiite district of Sadr City. Some protesters set tires on fire and tried to break into the Badr Organization’s office in Sadr City, prompting guards to open fire. No casualties were reported.
In a bid to contain the protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi convened a six-minister committee headed by the oil minister, Jabar Ali al-Luaibi. The committee promised jobs for those living in the areas around the oil fields and announced allocations for urgent projects, mainly for water provision.
On Friday, al-Abadi flew to Basra from the NATO summit in Brussels to try to diffuse the unrest. He also asked the staterun Basra Oil Company to provide more jobs to locals.
But that didn’t appear to assuage the protesters.
“These announcements are just anesthetization to the residents of Basra,” Hussein said. “Every year, they make the same promises, and nothing happens on the ground.”