Protestors block Umm Qasr port for second time, close Iraq’s Central Bank: officials

Protestors in southern Iraq have blocked the key Umm Qasr port for the second time while demonstrators in Baghdad closed the Central Bank, security officials said on Monday.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Protestors in southern Iraq have blocked the key Umm Qasr port for the second time while demonstrators in Baghdad closed the Central Bank, security officials said on Monday.

An official in Iraq’s southern Basra province told the Associated Press that protestors had “burned tires” to block roads leading to the Umm Qasr port.

Umm Qasr receives imports of grain, vegetable oils, and sugar shipments and is one of the most significant ports in Iraq.

After it was blocked in late October, the port was reopened earlier this month as operations resumed.

Demonstrators in Iraq are calling for radical change in Iraq’s political system, which they say fails to address their needs, but, rather, serves the interests of a small governing elite.

The protests over the past month reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the economy, including high levels of unemployment, the dismal state of public services, and widespread government corruption.

Elsewhere, on Monday, staff were forced to evacuate the Central Bank in Baghdad, located on Rasheed Street, as waves of protestors reached the area, the Associated Press reported.

Since they began in early October, widespread protests in Iraq have resulted in the deaths of at least 300, while some 12,000 have been injured, according to Iraq’s High Commission for Human Rights.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi recently said the nationwide protests had pressured political groups to bring about reforms but repeated a call for an end to demonstrations, complaining that the riots are affecting the country’s economy.