Riot police disperse 3rd day of protests in Basra’s Al-Sharsh
Shafaq News – Basra
Riot police dispersed protesters in the Al-Sharsh area of Basra province’s Qurna district late Wednesday, chasing demonstrators through the main road and surrounding alleys after a third consecutive day of rallies over collapsing public services and worsening water quality.
Videos filmed by protesters and obtained by Shafaq News showed security forces moving in to break up crowds after nightfall.
Residents of Al-Sharsh have held continuous demonstrations since Monday, demanding urgent solutions to severe water salinity, deteriorating infrastructure, and the long-delayed projects they say have left the district without basic services.
Raed Mohammed, a representative of the protesters, told Shafaq News that delegations from Basra’s local government had met with residents but offered “no real solutions on the ground.”
“We went back to the streets because nothing changed,” he said. “Our main demand is an immediate and permanent fix to the saltwater crisis.” Among the proposals protesters submitted were extending a supply line from the Nuhairat water complex to Al-Sharsh’s stations, accelerating work on the Al-Basha River project, and installing RO purification units as a lasting remedy.
They also called for ending the stalled retaining-wall project, resuming construction of the 300-bed hospital in Qurna, activating the employment office, paving roads, restoring service access to neglected neighborhoods, rehabilitating Al-Sharsh’s forested areas, and addressing drainage failures.
Al-Sharsh unrest follows back-to-back protests in Basra’s al-Hartha and Shatt al-Arab districts, where residents rallied over rising water salinity and contaminated water supplies. demonstrators set a four-day deadline for authorities to act, warning of escalatory measures, including sit-ins and road closures if potable water did not return. Residents accused the government of ignoring a crisis that has made the Shatt al-Arab River—once a key lifeline for southern Iraq—unsafe for drinking or household use.
Read more: From drought to saltwater: Iraq's deepening water crisis
