Protesters shut down Iraqi oil refinery

Protesters demanding government action on unemployment continued a five-day blockade of an oil refinery in southern Iraq.

Production was halted at the Nasiriyah refinery as demonstrators blocked the entrance gates, preventing employees from entering.

Their action caused fuel shortages across the southern province of Dhi Qar, with many petrol stations running dry and long queues at the few that were still open.

The province was unable to produce and refine crude oil and oil derivatives after the closure of the refinery, which has a maximum production capacity of 30,000 barrels per day, the refinery said.

This “will cause fuel scarcity in the province. If the closure continues, the movement of cars will stop completely”, it said.

More than 200 unemployed university graduates have staged a weeks-long sit-in outside the refinery to demand jobs.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi said yesterday that his Cabinet had been working for months to address high unemployment.

The government allocated a fund for the reconstruction of Dhi Qar.

“We hope that its money will be spent in a way that serves our people in the governorate,” he said.

Mr Al Kadhimi said his government would appoint an advisory council in Nasiriyah, linked to his office, which would follow up developments daily.

“I’m appealing to the people in Dhi Qar to put their support with the local government, and we will cooperate to advance the governorate,” he said.

Nearly 600 people have been killed since popular unrest began in Iraq on October 1, 2019.

Protesters, most of them young, are demanding an overhaul of a political system they say is profoundly corrupt and responsible for keeping most Iraqis in poverty. They are calling for better public services and employment opportunities.

The Covid-19 pandemic and worsening political deadlock in Iraq’s highly fractured Parliament delayed a 2020 budget that it was hoped would introduce reforms.

The budget was passed by Parliament last Wednesday, the longest wait for a national budget since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003.