Iraq protesters block main port, roads leading to oil fields

Iraqi protesters yesterday blocked the entrance to the port of Umm Qasr near Basra preventing staff and oil trucks from entering the site and causing a 50 per cent drop in operations.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters blocked the entrance to the Majnoon oil field, one of the most prominent areas in Basra, responsible for 80 per cent of Iraq’s oil exports.

For its part, the Basra Operations Command yesterday denied that protesters had closed roads leading to the oil fields in the district of Zubayr in Basra province.

“All roads leading to oil fields are completely secured and not closed,” Basra Operations Chief Qasim Nazzal said in a statement.

Since October, Iraq has been witness to violent anti-establishment protests that killed at least 320 protesters and injured thousands more.

On Sunday evening, violent clashes erupted between security forces and protesters on the Al-Ahrar and Al-Shuhadaa bridges in central Baghdad. One demonstrator was killed and 45 injuring.

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