Iraqis state sit-in to protest collapse of services in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Anadolu Agency

Hundreds of Iraqis staged a sit-in in Baghdad on March 18 to protest deteriorating services in the capital’s eastern part.

Protesters set tires ablaze and blocked a highway linking Baghdad to the eastern province of Diyala, amid calls for Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to intervene to improve the quality of services in the area.

“We are protesting to force the government to do its duty toward citizens,” Abdel-Jabbar Khalaf, a protester from the Shia-majority al-Maamel neighborhood, told state-run Anadolu Agency.

Khalaf said there had been a total collapse of services in their area.

“Despite our repeated appeals, the government has failed to do its job,” he said.

Without elaborating, Khalaf has vowed further steps if the government failed to improve services in their area.

Meanwhile, dozens of employees in the local electricity company demonstrated in the northern city of Kirkuk to demand their unpaid salaries.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Police Capt. Hamed al-Obaidi said some of the employees had not been paid for six months.

Iraq suffers from an acute financial crisis due to dropped oil prices and anti-terrorism military expenses.