6 protesters killed as tension simmers in Basra

BASRA - The United Nations envoy to Iraq called Wednesday for "calm" in Basra, after six died in the bloodiest day of protests over poor public services in the southern city.

In a statement, Jan Kubis, the UN's special representative in Iraq, called on "the authorities to avoid using disproportionate, lethal force against the demonstrators".

He also urged authorities to "investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the outbreak of violence".

The authorities said in a press conference on Wednesday that security personnel were wounded in Tuesday's clashes.

"Thirty members of the security forces were wounded by grenades and incendiary objects being thrown," said General Jamil al-Shammari, who is in charge of security operations in Basra.

Basra was nearly deserted on Wednesday morning. Many shops were closed, while burned tyres lay strewn across the city's streets.

The city -- along with the province of the same name -- has been hit by protests since early July against poor public services.

The authorities said they would take measures to put an end to the health crisis that has ravaged the oil-rich province.

The local governorate's headquarters, the main rallying point for protestors, bore the traces of damage from molotov cocktails and fireworks thrown late into the night.

Kubis in his statement called on the government "to do its utmost to respond to the people's rightful demands of clean water and electricity supplies as a matter of urgency".

Direct fire

Six people were killed on Tuesday in the southern Iraqi city as protesters rallied against economic woes and the dire state of public services.

During the protests, some people in the crowd hurled Molotov cocktails and fireworks at the government building, while security forces responded with tear gas and by firing shots into the air.

"Six demonstrators were killed and more than 20 wounded," said Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of the government's human rights council in Basra province.

Security forces "directly opened fire on protesters," he said.

Medical sources previously said two demonstrators were killed on Tuesday as thousands of people rallied outside the local government headquarters in Basra.

Around 15 members of the security forces were injured in the clashes, the medical sources said.

Another victim, Makki Yasser Ashur, died after being shot during protests on Monday, his family said Tuesday during his funeral march.

Protesters accompanied his coffin through the streets of Basra until the government building, before being dispersed by tear gas.

During the procession some armed civilians fired shots into the air and hailed Ashur as a "martyr".

Politicians and vandals

Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said an investigation had been launched into the death of another protester the day before.

Addressing his weekly press conference in the capital Baghdad, Abadi reasserted he had ordered "no real bullets are to be fired, in the direction of protesters or in the air".

Abadi announced in the night that he had met lawmakers from Basra, who are in Baghdad for the parliament's first session since the elections.

He again indicated that water pollution would be addressed, without specifying any measures.

Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr said in a tweet that "vandals infiltrated" the protestors.

Sadr's political bloc won the largest number of seats in national elections held in May, and he is trying to form a new government with Abadi.

Promises from Baghdad

Police and military cordons had been put in place, blocking numerous roads, while Basra's hospitals were filled with protesters bringing in people wounded in the clashes.

Basra's human rights council chief said tension was high in the city and "the shops have shut a lot earlier than usual".

Tamimi warned of further escalation "if the government's doesn't respond to the demands of demonstrators".

The government has already announced an emergency plan in response to the protests, while promising billions of dollars in investment for southern Iraq.

But protesters are wary of such pledges from the outgoing administration, as Iraqi lawmakers are in the process of forming a new government after May's election.

Political corruption has also fuelled protests, which erupted in Basra on July 8 before spreading across southern Iraq and reaching the capital.

A litany of social problems -- from unemployment to electricity cuts -- have also been a central complaint of demonstrators.

Iraqis have also called on authorities to clean up the water supply, with pollution blamed for putting 20,000 people in hospital in Basra province alone.

Protests had died down recently but since Friday large numbers have taken to the streets again.

Since early July, 21 people have been killed in protests across Iraq. At least one of those was shot dead by security forces, while authorities continue to accuse "vandals" of infiltrating the rallies.