Iraq could face another summer of bloodshed

Iraq could face another summer of bloodshed

Hundreds of protesters converged on the streets of the southern Iraqi city of Basra last week. Demonstrators across the province are calling for structural change to fix rampant corruption, a stagnant economy, high unemployment and underfunded public utilities. Protests in Iraq are common, but last summer's demonstrations saw an escalation into violence. Hundreds were wounded and killed, and many thousands more were arrested after clashes with police forces. Government buildings were set on fire, and the province was on the edge of revolt. Despite the violence, little has changed. The government still suffers from mismanagement and fraud. The country's elite have done little to improve conditions for the lower classes. As temperatures creep closer to 50°C and the struggling electrical grid and fresh water supply are strained, many question whether the protests will spiral into similar violence. On this week's episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Campbell MacDiarmid speaks with Dr Renad Mansour, a research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, and Belkis Wille, the senior Iraq researcher in the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. Read more on our website:

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The great Arab rivers are under threat

The great Arab rivers are under threat

For thousands of years, the great Arab rivers sustained some of the world’s most important ancient civilizations. The Nile River fuelled the development of 10 thousand years of Pharaonic rule. The Ti...

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Pompeo's timely tour of the Middle East

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8 Tammi 201919min

In Central African Republic, poaching thrives in the chaos

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2 Tammi 201916min

Reasons for cheer from an often dour year

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What more can we do to curb global warming?

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The GCC has welcomed the rule book laid out as part of a COP24 deal struck in Poland, but scientists say the world is running out of time to avoid the catastrophic events brought about by unmitigated ...

19 Joulu 201821min

Yemenis continue to suffer as warring sides negotiate

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12 Joulu 201823min

How Kuwait and Iraq were shaped by George H.W. Bush

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In August 1990 the Iraqi military invaded neighbouring Kuwait, bombing its capital city and sparking a war that would last six months and result in thousands of deaths. Not long after the invasion, la...

6 Joulu 201816min

Land as a weapon against Palestinians

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Palestinian Adeeb Joudeh is a member of one of two families safeguarding the keys to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is a respected figure among all factions of the city. But recently, h...

28 Marras 201816min

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