Protesters in Basra and Anbar demand jobs, contracts as sit-ins block oil offices

BASRA, Iraq — Engineering, petroleum and science graduates began a sit-in in front of the offices of the Basra Oil Company, the Oil Transport Company and the Oil Products Company, demanding jobs and appointments, a protest spokesman said. Spokesman Hassan Shawi said the graduates' demands had gone unanswered for a year and a half across two government periods. Protesters said they intended to intensify pressure by blocking employees from entering the company buildings. Shawi claimed that on the first day of the sit-in, members of the Law Enforcement Forces intervened and detained several demonstrators, with injuries reported. No casualty figure was provided. In Anbar province, graduates included in the "Anbar 5160" complaint file gathered outside the provincial Directorate of Education, saying their files carried full ministry approvals but had not been processed in a year and a half. They called for the completion of their contract process. The Anbar Police Director met the demonstrators and promised to arrange a meeting with the governor and the education director to set a date for talks. No further details on the meetings were immediately available.