Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with officials in Basra to discuss the growing demonstrations that began in Basra province this week, and promised to fulfill the protesters’ wishes for better services and jobs.

To underscore the significance of the oil and service protests, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came out in support of the demonstrators, but rejected the violence. Also, the Turkmen Front called on the government to listen to protesters and ensure services in Kirkuk province.

The demonstrations expanded into several provinces, including Babil, Dhi Qar, Karbala, Maysan, Muthanna, and Najaf. Residents of Baghdad also staged a rally.

In Maysan province, just north of Basra, where two people were killed, and 18 more were wounded; a Dawa party office was set ablaze.

Several demonstrators were injured as they stormed the airport in Najaf.

More injuries were reported during protests near the governor’s home in Nasariya; at least 36 security personnel were wounded.

In Basra, at least one protester was killed.

Violence unrelated to the protests also occurred:

Four militants were killed in Naft Khana.

Overall, at least seven people were killed and 57 were injured across Iraq. The number of injuries from the protests is expected to be higher.
• Large ISIS Convoy Crosses over from Syria; 27 Killed in Iraq – July 11th, 2018 </s> BASRA - Six people were killed on Tuesday during a rally in the oil-rich southern Iraqi city of Basra, an official said, which has been shaken by two months of protest.

“Six demonstrators were killed and more than 20 wounded,” said Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of the government’s human rights council in Basra province. Security forces “directly opened fire on protesters,” he said.

Medical sources previously said two demonstrators were killed on Tuesday as thousands of people rallied outside the local government headquarters in Basra.

During the protests, some people in the crowd hurled Molotov cocktails and fireworks at the government building, while security forces responded with tear gas and by firing shots into the air.

Around 15 members of the security forces were injured in the clashes, the medical sources said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said an investigation had been launched into the death of another protester the day before.

Addressing his weekly press conference in the capital Baghdad, Abadi reasserted he had ordered “no real bullets are to be fired, in the direction of protesters or in the air”.

Mekki Yasser Ashur died after being shot during protests, his family said Tuesday during his funeral march.

Protesters, some armed, accompanied his coffin through the streets of Basra until the government building before being dispersed by tear gas.

Tamimi, head of the provincial council for human rights in Basra, said security forces shot Ashur.

Protests erupted in Basra on July 8 over unemployment and the dire state of basic public services such as electricity, before spreading across southern Iraq and reaching the capital.

Iraqis have also called on authorities to clean up the water supply, with pollution blamed for putting 20,000 people in hospital in Basra province alone.

Protests had died down recently but since Friday large numbers have taken to the streets again.

Since early July, 21 people have been killed in protests across Iraq. At least one of those was shot dead by security forces, while authorities have accused “vandals” of infiltrating the rallies. </s> Protests by supporters of a powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric turned deadly Saturday in Baghdad.

A police officer was killed and seven others wounded during clashes between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and security forces, Baghdad’s security operations command said Saturday.

The cleric has called for the reform of Iraq’s election commission, and demonstrators had gathered in support of him.

Video of the rally shows police firing tear gas at the protesters.

The rally reached outside the fortified Green Zone, an area housing government buildings and foreign embassies.

Later Saturday, rockets fired from eastern Baghdad landed inside the Green Zone, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command Center said, but it’s unclear if that incident was related to the protests. There were no reports of casualties in the rocket firing.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation into the clashes. </s> A police officer was killed and seven others wounded during clashes between supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and security forces, Baghdad's security operations command said Saturday.

The cleric has called for the reform of Iraq's election commission, and demonstrators had gathered in support of him.

Video of the rally shows police firing tear gas at the protesters.

Later Saturday, rockets fired from eastern Baghdad landed inside the Green Zone, Iraq's Joint Operations Command Center said, but it's unclear if that incident was related to the protests. There were no reports of casualties in the rocket firing. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation into the clashes. </s> BASRA, Iraq: A protester has died and six more were wounded in clashes with security forces in Iraq's southern oil hub Basra on Monday night, local health and security sources said.

Protesters threw petrol bombs cocktails and stones at security forces, who responded by firing shots into the air and tear gas, security sources said.

Hundreds of people had gathered near Basra's provincial government headquarters to press demands for better public services and an end corruption. The crowd averaged about 600-700 people at its peak, but thinned throughout the night.

Health sources said six protesters were taken to hospitals after sustaining injuries during the protests.

The local head of Iraq's Human Rights Commission, Mahdi al-Tamimi, called for an immediate investigation into the protester's death.

"We call on the Iraqi judiciary to open an immediate and urgent investigation into the killing of a demonstrator who was shot in the shoulder and subjected to electric shocks by security forces," Tamimi said in a statement.

Protests have swept cities in the long neglected south, Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim heartland, over electricity outages during the hot Iraqi summer, a lack of jobs and proper government services, and entrenched graft.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi suspended the electricity minister last month and said on Monday that his government had begun punishing those responsible for poor services in Basra, Iraq's second biggest city.

But public anger has swelled at a time when politicians are struggling to form a new government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in May. Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has expressed support for the protests.

On Friday, hundreds of protesters clashed with security forces in Basra as they tried to break into the provincial government headquarters. </s> The Iraqi Interior Ministry says a policeman was killed and seven other wounded during clashes in Baghdad with protesters loyal to the prominent Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

 

 But supporters of Sadr gave a higher casualty toll from the February 11 clashes, saying at least five people were killed and as many as 320 wounded.

 

 Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an investigation into those claims.

 

 Thousands of Sadr’s supporters gathered in Baghdad’s central Tahrir Square on February 11 to demand changes to an electoral supervisory commission ahead of a provincial election in September.

 

 Correspondents say the clashes broke out when police tried to disperse protesters who tried to cross a bridge that links Tahrir Square with Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, a part of the city that houses government buildings, embassies, and international organizations.

 

 During the evening on February 11, Iraqi military officials said several Katyusha rockets were fired into the Green Zone from Baladiyat, a district of Baghdad with many Sadr supporters. There were no reports of casualties in those incidents.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP </s> Iraqi security forces sprayed tear gas and fired into the air on Wednesday to try to disperse thousands of protesters in the southern city of Basra. The deaths of five protesters in clashes with security forces on Tuesday added to anger in the oil hub over poor government services, Reuters reports. Like other cities in the long-neglected south, Basra is plagued by electricity outages, unemployment, and entrenched corruption. Security and health sources said that 22 members of the security forces were injured on Tuesday in some of the worst unrest in the region for months. On Wednesday, some protesters tried to break down concrete barriers around the provincial governorate building. </s> Basra: Six people were killed on Tuesday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in ongoing unrest, as protesters rally against economic woes and the dire state of public services. "Six demonstrators were killed and more than 20 wounded," said Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of the government's human rights council in Basra province.

Security forces "directly opened fire on protesters," he said. Medical sources previously said two demonstrators were killed on Tuesday as thousands of people rallied outside the local government headquarters in Basra.

During the protests, some people in the crowd hurled Molotov cocktails and fireworks at the government building, while security forces responded with tear gas and by firing shots into the air. Around 15 members of the security forces were injured in the clashes, the medical sources said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi said an investigation had been launched into the death of another protester on Monday. Addressing his weekly press conference in the capital Baghdad, Abadi reasserted he had ordered "no real bullets are to be fired, in the direction of protesters or in the air".

Mekki Yasser Ashur died after being shot during protests, his family said Tuesday during his funeral march. Protesters accompanied his coffin through the streets of Basra until the government building, before being dispersed by tear gas.

During the procession some armed civilians fired shots into the air and hailed Ashur as a "martyr". Police and military cordons had been put in place, blocking numerous roads, while Basra's hospitals were filled with protesters bringing in people wounded in the clashes.

Basra's human rights council chief said tension was high in the city and "the shops have shut a lot earlier than usual". Tamimi warned of further escalation "if the government's doesn't respond to the demands of demonstrators".

The government has already announced an emergency plan in response to the protests, while promising billions of dollars in investment for southern Iraq. But protesters are wary of such pledges from the outgoing administration, as Iraqi lawmakers are in the process of forming a new government after May's election.

Political corruption has also fuelled protests, which erupted in Basra on July 8 before spreading across southern Iraq and reaching the capital. A litany of social problems -- from unemployment to electricity cuts -- have also been a central complaint of demonstrators.

Iraqis have also called on authorities to clean up the water supply, with pollution blamed for putting 20,000 people in hospital in Basra province alone. Protests had died down recently but since Friday large numbers have taken to the streets again.

Since early July, 21 people have been killed in protests across Iraq. At least one of those was shot dead by security forces, while authorities have accused "vandals" of infiltrating the rallies. </s> The job and services protest entered its second week on Sunday. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi threatened to have saboteurs among the demonstrators shot, as he deployed more forces to the southern provinces.

Overall, at least 14 people were killed and 366 were injured across Iraq:

Security forces clashed with protesters attempting to storm a courthouse in Samawa, where they killed three. At least 165 were injured, 90 of them security personnel.

In Basra, a clash erupted between security forces and civilians who were trying to enter a government building while demonstrating at a nearby oil field. Four deaths was reported. The fighting also wounded 48 civilians and 28 security members.

Fifteen demonstrators and 25 policemen were injured in clashes in Nasariya. Another 35 people were wounded there or elsewhere in Dhi Qar province.

A clash in a town near Amara left 13 protesters and seven policemen with injuries.

Flights to Najaf are limited after the airport was compromised on Saturday. Flydubai halted its flights, while planes originating in Iran will now fly to Baghdad instead. Oman Air and Royal Jordanian also canceled flights. Schedules involving flights from the UAE and Kuwait were altered as well.

A governor’s headquarters and a Badr Organization office were set on fire in Muthanna.

A blast in Taji left one dead and one wounded.

Turkish airstrikes left six militants dead in Gara and Zab.
• Two Killed, 33 Injured in Continuing Protests in Southern Iraq – July 14th, 2018
• Large ISIS Convoy Crosses over from Syria; 27 Killed in Iraq – July 11th, 2018
Seven people are killed and more than 30 are injured during a rally in Basra, Iraq after security forces opened fire.