[ad_1]
Iraqi police dispersed on Sunday several gatherings in the country. Eight days ago, a social protest movement, denouncing the state of public services and unemployment, left Basra in southern Iraq. The movement spread to the rest of the country. Saturday, calls for a major demonstration emerged in particular in the capital Baghdad.
Faced with the threat of extension of this movement, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Saturday night an immediate allocation of about three billion dollars for Basra province, in addition to promises of investment in housing, schools and services.
Dozens injured. Announcements that have not all helped to calm the grumbling. This Sunday in Basra, police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators who were trying to storm the provincial council's headquarters in the center of the city, an AFP correspondent reported. Other demonstrators attempted to enter the al-Zoubeir oilfield, southwest of the city. They were repulsed by security forces after clashes that have injured, according to the correspondent.
Protests also continued this Sunday in the provinces of Zi Qar, Najaf and Kerbala, where clashes Police have made dozens of wounded among protesters and police, AFP correspondents said. In Nasiriyah, head of Dhi Qar province, at least 15 protesters and 25 policemen were wounded in the clashes, according to Abdel Mohsen al-Jabiri, deputy director of the health department.
The highest Shia authority , Ayatollah Ali Sistani, on Friday supported the protesters, while calling on them to avoid disorder and destruction.
Source link
