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BASRA / ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Anger-fueled civil unrest over alleged corruption and corruption by the Iraqi political elite intensified on Friday in the south of the country, as protesters took hostage at the site of oil.
Iraqi protesters are seen in front of the Iranian consulate burned in Basra, Iraq, on September 7, 2018. REUTERS / Essam al-Sudani
After five days of deadly demonstrations in Basra during which government buildings were ransacked and set on fire, protesters stormed and damaged the consulate offices.
Security sources said the consulate was empty when the crowd burst. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said the takeover of the consulate, which he deeply regretted, had nothing to do with the demands of the protesters.
"The targeting of diplomatic missions is unacceptable and prejudicial to the interests of Iraq," said ministry spokesman Ahmed Mahjoub.
Iran, however, blamed Iraq for failing to protect its embassy and said Baghdad should "quickly identify and punish the attackers," spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters.
The Iraqi ambassador to Tehran was then summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the complaints.
Several foreign governments have consulates in the city, including the United States and Russia.
Towards the end of the day, some 65 kilometers northwest of the second-largest city in Iraq, another group of protesters entered a water treatment plant linking the West Qurna 2 deposit, managed by Lukoil. in Russia.
Oil prices were flat Friday as US crude tumbled in global stock markets as Brent edged up on geopolitical factors, including violent protests in Iraq.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 2 cents to $ 67.75 a barrel. Brent futures rose 33 cents to 76.83 dollars a barrel. [O/R]
The protesters held two Iraqi employees hostage for about an hour before leaving the settlement peacefully, according to a Lukoil source and a source in the Basra Energy Police. Production has not been interrupted, said an oilfield manager.
The unrest in Basra may have deeper implications for a country that imports most of its food.
Since Thursday protesters have closed the only major seaport of Iraq to Umm Qasr, 60 km south of Basra. It remained closed on Friday, local officials and security sources said, although oil exports from offshore platforms have not been affected.
SWEEP CLEAN
The locals say that they were driven into the streets by corruption, which allowed the infrastructure to collapse, leaving neither electricity nor safe drinking water in the summer. The demonstrations intensified on Monday.
Since then, at least 12 protesters have died in the city of 2 million people, most of them in clashes with security forces.
On Friday, two protesters died from gunshot wounds and 39 were injured, local health and safety sources said. A curfew was imposed shortly before 9 pm local time, but residents continue to target a building belonging to the Iraqi People's Mobilization Forces, which includes mainly Shiite militias backed by Iran.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's National Security Council met on Friday and said it was investigating the victims of the protests.
The consulate was held hours after Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric called for political upheaval in Baghdad and an end to violence against the protesters.
Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the supreme authority of the devoted members of the Iraqi Shiite majority, who normally stands above daily politics, blamed the unrest on political leaders and said a new government should be formed. ".
Smaller demonstrations also took place on Friday in other cities, including Karbala and Baghdad.
NEW CRISIS
The unrest has plunged Iraq into another major crisis at a time when politicians have not yet agreed to a new government after an inconclusive election in May. The new parliament finally met on Monday for the first time, but separated after a day of failing to elect a speaker, let alone appoint the next prime minister.
The interim leader of Parliament summoned lawmakers to an emergency session Saturday to discuss unrest.
Political figures, engaged in negotiations on forming the government in Baghdad, have attempted to respond to the crisis by condemning the inaction of their rivals.
The Iraqi political factions have mainly gathered during the last four years in a war against the Islamic State. The two most influential allies in Baghdad, Washington and Tehran, also supported the government despite their deep hostility.
But since ISIS was largely defeated last year, divisions have resurfaced. Shiites in the south, where most of Iraq's oil wealth is produced, say Baghdad politicians have squandered public funds while leaving them desperate.
Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite populist cleric whose electoral bloc came top in the May elections, said on Twitter that Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi was to release more funds for Basra.
Sadr, the former leader of an anti-American Shiite sectarian militia who reinvented himself as an anti-corruption activist, joined forces with Abadi.
Their alliance is competing to form a government against a rival bloc backed by Abadi's predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki, and the leader of an Iran-backed Shiite armed group, Hadi al-Amiri. Amiri called on Abadi to resign Friday from the crisis.
Reports made by Aref Mohammed to Basra and Raya Jalabi in Erbil; additional report by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva; Written by Raya Jalabi; Edited by John Stonestreet and James Dalgleish
