Absent of any urban planning or public services, Basra's informal settlements are an anarchic clutter of breeze-block homes and ad-hoc electricity wires. Most of the young people arriving in Iraq's only coastal oil province hoped to secure high-paying jobs with foreign companies. - 'Can't buy a centimetre' -According to the UN, Iraq's oil sector accounts for 65 percent of the country's gross domestic product but only one percent of its labour force. - Illegal construction -Many internal refugees displaced by IS fled to Basra, untouched by the jihadist takeover, often finding homes in shanty towns. Nearly 10 percent of Iraqis live in informal settlements, one fifth of them in Basra, according to the ministry of planning.

Source: Daily Mail April 19, 2018 04:56 UTC