Iraqi Parliament to hold emergency meeting on Basra

The Iraqi parliament on Friday announced an emergency meeting after a curfew was imposed in the southern city of Basra.

A fresh outbreak of protests over poor public services was reported as well as news of shells fired into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

The parliament will meet on Saturday to discuss the water contamination crisis which has triggered the protests, said a statement.

It is understood that at least nine demonstrators have been killed since Tuesday in clashes with security forces.

Some 30,000 people who had drunk polluted water were hospitalized, a fact that triggered further protests.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and key ministers are to attend the parliament session, which was demanded by Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, winner of the largest number of seats in 12 May elections.

No government has been formed yet. 

In Basra, the epicentre of protests that have shaken Iraq since July, demonstrators on Thursday set fire to the local government headquarters.