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Iraqi protesters set fire to Iranian consulate in Basra - UPDATE

RT
Fri, 07 Sep 2018 19:35 UTC

Protester in front of the burnt Iranian Consulate in Basra

Protesters have stormed and set fire to the Iranian consulate in the Iraqi oil-hub city of Basra. The city has been engulfed in protests over poor public services and corruption since the start of the week.

Violent protests in Basra have been ongoing since Monday. The rioters are angry over shortages of potable water, electricity and jobs. They have been attacking government buildings, as well as the headquarters of political parties with links to Iran.

At least 10 protesters have died since Monday in clashes with security forces. They are accusing corrupt political parties of allowing the city's infrastructure to crumble, as well as blaming Iran for interfering with Iraqi politics. Before setting fire to the consulate, they spent hours shouting anti-Iranian slogans in front of it. At least one protester's message, viewed over 24,000 time on Facebook, accuses Iran of directly cutting off the water supply to Basra, which is located around 30km from the Iranian border.

Comment: See also: Iraqis set government building on fire in Basra as at least 1 killed, 20+ injured in fresh protests

Update: Sputnik reports curfew imposed on Basra as missiles land in airport:

Earlier on Saturday, an Iraqi airport representative told the Associated Press (AP) that unidentified attackers had launched three Katyusha rockets at the facility, adding that no casualties or damages were reported as a result of the incident.

Iraqi officials have imposed a curfew on Basra starting at 4:00 p.m. local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday, a military statement said.

According to the Alsumaria broadcaster, in spite of Iraqi authorities' several attempt to impose curfew in Basra in order to ease the situation, thousands of local citizens were leaving their houses every evening, and the protests showed no sign of fading.

Prime Minister Haider Abadi addressed the situation in Basra during an emergency session in the Iraqi Parliament, warning against a politicization of the crisis.

"Politics should be separated from security and services," the prime minister said, adding that he had ordered an investigation into the security forces "for not fulfilling their duties" during the unrest.

The government has also dismissed the head of Basra Operations Command and the chief of Basra Police.

The curfew was introduced in the second biggest city of the country amid violent mass protests over a lack of basic services and corruption, with demonstrators storming and torching presidential palaces, attacking the Iranian consulate and offices of pro-Iranian political parties.

According to Iraqi Health Ministry spokesman Seif Badr, at least 13 people were killed and 50 injured during the clashes.