At least two protesters were killed in clashes with Iraqi security forces in the town of Samawa on Sunday, a police official said, amid growing unrest in southern cities over poor public services and widespread corruption.
“Hundreds of people tried to storm a courthouse. Shots were fired towards us. It was not clear who was shooting. We had no choice but to open fire,” the police official told Reuters.
In the city of Basra, demonstrators tried to storm the governor’s headquarters but were dispersed by police who fired tear gas at them, AFP reported.
Police also fired tear gas at stone-throwing demonstrators who tried to push their way into the Zubeir oil field south of the city.
More so, police sources said 40 people were wounded, three of them with live bullets.
Local officials said the protests did not affect oil production in Basra, where oil exports account for more than 95 percent of Iraq's national revenues.
Any disruption to production would seriously damage the faltering economy and lead global crude prices to rise.
Near Dhi Qar province, 15 demonstrators and 25 policemen were also injured, deputy health director Abdel Hussein al-Jabri said.
The clashes, including hand-to-hand combat, erupted when the demonstrators gathered outside the governor’s office and pelted security forces with stones.
In Muthana province bordering Basra, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the governor’s headquarters and some torched parts of the building, a police source said.
Protesters in Muthana also set fire to the offices of the Iranian-backed Badr organization in the province’s largest city of Samawa.
On Saturday, protesters had set alight Badr’s headquarters in Basra, prompting authorities to impose an overnight curfew across the whole province.
As protests continued, Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi met with security and intelligence chiefs in the capital Baghdad on Sunday, warning them to be on alert “because terrorists want to exploit any event or dispute.”
“Iraqis do not accept chaos, assaults on the security forces, state and private property, and those who do this are vandals who exploit the demands of citizens to cause harm,” he said.
The prime minister also ordered security services not to use live fire against the unarmed protesters.
The unrest first erupted on July 8 when security forces opened fire, killing one person, as youths demonstrated in Basra demanding jobs, and accusing the government of failing to provide basic services, including electricity.
The protests — which have spread north to Baghdad — come as Iraq struggles to rebuild after three-year war against ISIS terrorists, which has ravaged their country’s infrastructure.
On Saturday evening, Abadi announced investment worth $3 billion for Basra province, as well as pledging additional spending on housing, schools and services.
Mounting anger places Abadi, who is seeking reelection, in a difficult position.
Protesters criticized Abadi’s ruling Dawa Party for having dominated the Iraqi political landscape since the 2003 US invasion. Ziad Fadil, 38, an unemployed man, said the Dawa party had ruled Iraq for 15 years and its leaders could not deliver.
“Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 so far, the only real thing Shiite politicians say is their lies,” said Osama Abbas, 25, an unemployed university graduate.
“We are still drinking dirty water, and forgetting what air conditioning means during the summer,” he added.
Despite Abadi’s orders to reopen the Najaf airport, stormed by protesters on Friday, airlines suspended flights to the city.
Royal Jordanian Airlines said in a statement it had suspended four flights a week to Najaf because of the security situation. Flydubai followed suit, while Iranian state television reported that Iranian flights scheduled for the city would be diverted to Baghdad.
