Iraq’s popular Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for an urgent parliamentary session to discuss the situation in the southern city of Basra, where protests against poor public services and joblessness have turned violent. Iraq’s popular Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for an urgent parliamentary session to discuss the situation in the southern city of Basra, where protests against poor public services and joblessness have turned violent. In a televised speech, Mr al-Sadr called for the parliamentary session to be held no later than Sunday, and said the prime minister Haider al-Abadi and other officials should either attend the session or resign. Residents of Basra and other cities in Iraq’s southern Shia heartland have been protesting since July over endemic corruption, soaring joblessness and poor public services. Basra is Iraq’s second-largest province and home to about 70% of the OPEC member’s vast oil reserves.

Source: Irish Independent September 06, 2018 12:56 UTC