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Protester killed in services protest outside Basra oil field

Iraqi security forces shot protesters in an escalation of chronic frustration with a lack of jobs and services, including salty water that shut down the Basra refinery.
Protestors outside the West Qurna 1 oil field prepare a tent on July 8, 2018. (JASSIM AL-JABIRI/Iraq Oil Report)

BASRA - One protester was confirmed dead and at least two protesters and five members of security forces were injured outside the West Qurna 1 oil field on Sunday, as demonstrators rallied against unmet demands for jobs and basic services.

The lack of steady work, electricity, and potable water has been compounded by 120 degrees Fahrenheit heat and poor quantity and quality of water flowing from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and tributaries. Increased salinity in the Shatt al-Arab – the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers – temporarily shut down the country's largest operational refinery over the weekend.

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