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Demonstration in Basra on September 5, 2018. REUTERS / Alaa al-Marjani
Iraqi security forces fired again Wednesday to try to disperse a new demonstration in Basra, a city in southern Iraq theater the day before the death of six protesters.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi claims to have been clear: " no live ammunition against the population ". Yet according to the testimony of an Iraqi army non-commissioned officer who requires anonymity, Baghdad is seeking to regain control of the area by force.
Anonymous testimony of a non-commissioned officer of the Iraqi army
" The government is desperate to restore order in Basra. There have been clashes between the protesters and the security forces, I am talking about the police as well as the army. There were deaths. As a result, some soldiers withdrew, they abandoned their vehicles in their barracks and laid down their weapons (they refuse to shoot the protesters). The claims of the inhabitants of Basra are legitimate. They do not have access to drinking water, there is no electricity, young people are unemployed and the security situation is only deteriorating. People in Basra demand better living conditions and jobs for young people . "
Mahdi al-Tamimi, head of the government's human rights council in Basra, talks about a real humanitarian crisis: " The water flowing in the rivers of Basra is a mixture of chemicals in which bacteria proliferate. I do not even talk about air and soil pollution here. Basra is in crisis. The anger of the population is legitimate. People are demonstrating for their rights. They got tired of nobody hearing their demands. People tried to alert the authorities and nobody did anything for them. Here the water is unhealthy, even the water that is bought in bottle is unfit for consumption. We have recorded nearly 35,000 cases of poisoning and the authorities have not even declared a state of emergency. No official is accountable or sanctioned for this situation .