Basra: Oil workers protest, dispersed by security forces

Shafaq News – Basra

Security forces in Iraq's Basra forcibly dispersed hundreds of oil employees who launched an open-ended sit-in on Thursday to protest their sudden dismissal, marking ten months of ongoing demonstrations.

Ahmed Shaker, a protest representative, told Shafaq News that approximately 350 workers had long served in the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) project at the South Refineries Company in Basra, but were laid off without guarantees. “Authorities ignored our repeated demands, relying instead on foreign labor while sidelining local expertise. We decided to escalate our protest to reach the Prime Minister during his upcoming Basra visit,” he said.

Shaker criticized local MPs for engaging only in the run-up to elections and said South Refineries’ management deliberately neglected previous promises to resolve the dispute.

The protest comes amid broader civil unrest in Basra, where residents have staged multiple demonstrations over worsening water salinity. In recent days, citizens in the al-Tamimiya, al-Hayyaniya, and Shatt al-Arab districts blocked roads, burned tires, and demanded the dismissal of water department directors, threatening further civil disobedience if authorities fail to act.