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Protests in Southern Iraq to Demand Better Services, Jobs

by Associated Press

   BAGHDAD --

   Iraqis demanding better public services and jobs took to the streets
   again on Sunday in the southern oil-rich province of 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 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam
   Hussein, saw the lowest touronaut in 15 years and were married 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 the
   city of Basra on Sunday, activist Laith Hussein told The Associated
   Press over the phone.

   Security forces guarding the local government building opened fire,
   causing some protesters to scatter away, he added.

   Elsewhere in Basra, protesters also forced authorities to close the
   vital Um Qasr port on the Persian Gulf, and planned to march to the
   border crossings with Kuwait and Iran, he said.

   On Saturday night, a group of protesters tried to break into the
   headquarters of Badr Organization, one of the powerful Shiite parties,
   which also has an armed wing, but the guards opened fire, wounding some
   of the protesters, Hussein said.

   He could not confirm whether there were fatalities from either of the
   incidents. Health and police officials were not immediately available
   to comment.

   Around noon, Basra anti-riot 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 on 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.

   Protests in Basra boiled over on Tuesday, when security forces opened
   fire, killing one person and wounding five people, and spread to other
   provinces within days. Angry mobs broke into local government buildings
   and burned the offices of some political parties in some cities.

   In Najaf, the protesters broke into Iraq's second-busiest airport,
   causing damages to the passenger terminal and delaying fights.

   Citing security concerns, Kuwait Airways and the Royal Jordanian
   suspended their flights to Najaf until further notice. Flights to other
   Iraqi airports have not been affected, they said. Also, FlyDubai, based
   in the United Arab Emirates, said it cancelled Saturday's flight to
   Najaf and suspended all flights until July 22. It added the carrier
   will continue to monitor the situation.

   In a bid to contain the protests, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi
   dispatched 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.

   On Friday, al-Abadi flew to Basra from the NATO summit in Brussels to
   try to diffuse the unrest. He also asked the state-run Basra Oil
   Company to provide more jobs to locals and announced urgent
   allocations.

   But that didn't assuage the protesters.

   "These announcements are just anesthetization to the residents of
   Basra," Hussein, the activist, said. "Every year, they give the same
   promises, and nothing happened on the ground."

   The only solution is "to replace the current faces that represent the
   parties that failed to develop Basra by new faces from new political
   parties from Basra itself," he also said.

   Like others, Hussein demanded Baghdad give more powers to a new, local
   Basra government.

   The demonstrations were given a boost after a representative of the
   Shiite community's spiritual leader, the Grand Ayatollah Ali
   al-Sistani, offered his solidarity with the protesters during Friday
   sermon, but called for peaceful demonstrations.

   Basra is Iraq's second-largest province and home to about 70 percent of
   the country's proven oil reserves of 153.1 billion barrels. It is
   located on the Persian Gulf bordering Kuwait and Iran, and is Iraq's
   only hub for all oil exports nowadays to the international market.