Dozens hurt as protesters clash with cops

Dozens of demonstrators were wounded in southern Iraq yesterday in clashes with police as protests over unemployment and a lack of basic services entered a second week, officials said.

The protests hit several provinces including Basra, despite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announcing fresh funds and pledges of investment for the oil-rich but neglected region.

The internet had been out of service across the country for 48 hours.

In the city of Basra, demonstrators tried to storm the governor's headquarters but were dispersed by police who fired tear gas at them, an AFP reporter said.

Police also fired tear gas at stone-throwing demonstrators who tried to push their way into the Zubeir oil field south of the city, the reporter said.

Several people, including journalists, were overcome by the gas, the reporter said.

In Nasiriyah, provincial capital of neighbouring Dhi Qar province, 15 demonstrators and 25 policemen were injured in clashes, deputy health director Abdel Hussein al-Jabri said.

The clashes, including hand-to-hand combat, erupted when the demonstrators gathered outside the governor's office and pelted security forces with stones.

In Muthana province bordering Basra, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the governor's headquarters and some torched parts of the building, a police source said.

Protesters in Muthana also set fire to the offices of the Iranian-backed Badr organisation in the province's largest city of Samawa.

Demonstrators also packed the streets of the holy central city of Karbala on Saturday night and clashed with police outside the offices of the governor.

The unrest first erupted last Sunday when security forces opened fire, killing one person, as youths demonstrated in Basra demanding jobs and accusing the government of failing to provide basic services including electricity.