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Iraqis' anger over jobs, poor services mount

Basra (Iraq) - The mounting anger has put Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi in a difficult position.

Iraqi police fired in the air as hundreds of protesters tried to storm the main provincial government building in Basra on Sunday, wounding seven demonstrators, police sources said, in unrest over poor state services that has swept southern cities over the past week.
The mounting anger has put Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi in a difficult position. He hopes to serve a second term when politicians form a new government following a May 12 parliamentary election tainted by allegations of fraud.
Troubles in Basra have reinforced the widely-held view that Iraqi leaders rarely deliver on promises of a brighter future.
"Some of the protesters tried to storm the building. We prevented them by using water cannons and tear gas," said one of the police sources.
Nineteen security forces were also wounded in clashes with stone-throwing protesters at the provincial government headquarters.
Security forces also faced demonstrations about 4km from Eni's Zubair oil field near Basra, a crumbling oil-exporting city.
Nineteen protesters were wounded, three by live fire, according to police sources.
Twenty one members of the security forces were wounded after protesters hurled bricks and stones at them.
Internet access in Iraq has been dramatically reduced.
Local officials said demonstrations have not affected crude production in Basra, whose shipments account for more than 95 per cent of Iraq's state revenues.
Any disruption could severely impact the country's limping economy and push up global oil prices.
On Friday, protesters stormed the international airport in Najaf, temporarily suspending air traffic.
Jordan's state airline said on Sunday it had suspended four weekly flights to Najaf due to the "security situation at its airport, a company statement said.
Abadi has announced that his caretaker government would release funds to Basra for water, electricity and health services.
Substantial relief is unlikely to come anytime soon for Basra, once dubbed the "Venice of the Middle East" for its network of canals resembling the Italian city.