Iraqi PM Arrives in Basra after Week-Long Protest
TEHRAN (defapress) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived Monday morning in Basra, the oil-rich southern city where protests over government neglect had escalated into deadly violence, his office said.
After 12 protesters were killed and many of Basra's institutions torched last week, calm returned to the city late Saturday as Abadi's political rivals announced their intentions in Baghdad to form Iraq's next government without him.
The schedule of al-Abadi’s Monday’s visit is still unclear, AP reported.
Al-Abadi, who took office in Sept. 2014, a few months after the Daesh onslaught in northern and western Iraq, is widely blamed for poor performance regarding public services.
Oil-rich Basra and other cities in Iraq’s southern Shiite heartland have been protesting since July over endemic corruption, soaring joblessness and poor public services.
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