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A man carries a national flag as protesters burn the city complex during demonstrations calling for better public services and jobs in Basra, 550 km south-east of Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday, September 5, 2018. (Nabil al- Jurani / Associated Press)
Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday called for an emergency parliamentary session to discuss the situation in the city of Basra, where demonstrations against poor public services and unemployment have become violent, forcing authorities to impose curfew.
Nine civilians have been killed since the beginning of the month in clashes between protesters and police, according to the Independent High Commission for Human Rights in Iraq, which said that another 93 civilians and 18 security forces were wounded.
In a televised speech, al-Sadr said that the session of parliament should be held no later than Sunday and that the prime minister and other officials should attend the session or resign.
Supporters of the populist cleric won the most seats in the national elections held earlier this year, but Iraqi factions still have to form a new government.
A provincial official of the Iraqi Ports company said authorities closed Wednesday night the port of Um Qasr in the Persian Gulf, fearing sabotage. The official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose information, would not say when operations would resume.
Brig. General Saad Maan, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, announced a curfew in Basra starting at 3 pm Thursday, citing "intelligence reports of possible attacks against government offices". The government said the protesters' demands were legitimate, while attributing responsibility for acts of violence to saboteurs.
Since July, residents of Basra and other cities in the center of Iraq's Shiite country have been protesting rampant corruption, rising unemployment and poor public services. Clashes erupted earlier this week, killing several civilians and police. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an investigation into the violence.
Basra is the second largest province in Iraq and is home to about 70 percent of OPEC's vast oil reserves.
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Nabil al-Jurani, Associated Press editor in Basra, contributed.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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