Protesters stormed the Iranian consulate in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Friday, turning their wrath on Iraq's powerful neighbour after five days of deadly demonstrations in which government buildings have been ransacked and torched. Demonstrators broke in and began damaging the offices, shouting condemnation of what many Iraqis perceive as Iran's sway over Iraq's political parties. Since Thursday protesters have shut Iraq's only major sea port at Umm Qasr, 60 km (40 miles) south of Basra. Mourners carried the body from his house through the streets to the singed government building, chanting: "This is a promise, this is a promise, Basra won't stay silent anymore!" The past four years saw Iraq's political factions mainly come together during a war against Islamic State.

Source: dna September 07, 2018 16:41 UTC