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BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi police fired in the air as protesters tried to storm the provincial government building in Basra on Sunday, wounding seven demonstrators, police sources said, in a swept southern cities over the past week.
The mounting anger has put Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a difficult position. He hopes to serve a second term when politicians form a new government following a May 12
Troubles in Basra have reinforced the widespread-held view of Iraqi leaders.
"Some of the protesters tried to storm the building. We can not help them, "said one of the police sources.
Nineteen security forces were also wounded in clashes with stone-throwing protesters at the provincial government headquarters.
Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has expressed solidarity with protesters, saying they faced an "extreme lack of public services".
Sistani, who has millions of followers, rarely intervenes in politics, but has a wide audience.
Security forces also faced demonstrations over the course of the Zubair oil field near Basra, a crumbling oil-exporting city. Nineteen protesters were wounded, three by live fire, according to font sources.
Twenty one members of the security forces were wounded after protesters hurled bricks and stones at them.
Internet access in Iraq has been dramatically reduced.
Local officials said demonstrations in the United States of America.
Any disruption could severely impact the country's economy.
STRUGGLE TO REBUILD
On Friday, protesters stormed the international airport in the holy city of Najaf, suspending air traffic.
Jordan's state of the art on the city of Najaf. Flyudubai also followed suit.
Abadi has announced that his caretaker government would release funds to Basra for water, electricity and health services.
A political bloc led by populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr won a majority in the poll on an anti-corruption platform which had appealing to Iraq's electorate.
Substantial relief is unlikely to come out anytime soon for Basra, once dubbed the "Venice of the Middle East" for its network of cbads resembling the Italian city.
Iraq needs to generate billions of dollars to rebuild after its three-year war with Islamic State.
Demonstrators, who are demanding jobs and better government services, Umm Qasr commodities port.
Security forces have battled protesters in Basra and several other cities in the south.
Saddam Hussein oppressed the country's majority Shi'ites, neglecting their southern heartland.
Successive Shi'ite-led governments that have run the country since he was toppled in 2003 have also done little to improve lives in Basra and others cities where the money rarely trickles down to the population.
The demonstrators have taken the unusual step of attacking buildings belonging to powerful Shi'ite militias, in addition to local government headquarters.
Abadi, who also served as commander-in-chief of Iraq's armed forces, had earlier issued a nationwide order of security forces on high alert in the southern provinces.
His directive aims to stem the burgeoning protests, which spread from Basra to the cities of Amara, Nasiriya and the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.
Reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra and additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Keith Weir
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