3 Iraqi protesters injured during rally near Basra oilfield
Iraq suffers from acute financial crisis due to dropped oil prices and anti-terrorism expenses [File photo]
A security source told Baghdad Today website that “the three demonstrators were moved to a nearby hospital after they had been beaten by a security force stationed near an oilfield in al-Qurnah town, about 74 km northwest of Basra.”
Earlier in the day, an Iraqi tribe staged a rally and blocked a road leading to the Rumaila oilfield after one of its tribesmen was killed at the hands of security forces.
The protesters demanded the capture of the killer and retirement of Basra Operations Commander Lt Gen Jamil al-Shammari.
On Sunday, security forces guarding oilfields in Talha district in Basra opened fire at a group of protesters, who gathered on the road leading to West Qurna Field, demanding job opportunities and improving the quality of petroleum and security services.
Mohsen al-Bahly, one of the protest’s organizers, accused the Iraqi police of randomly opening fire at the demonstrators, leaving a 25-year-old young man dead and three others wounded.
According to Bahly, the protesters left the scene once the clashes erupted.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry ordered forming a panel to open a probe into the death and injury of the Iraqi protesters.
According to the ministry’s spokesman Maj. Gen. Saad Maan, “the panel was directed to prepare a report on that score as soon as possible.”