BAGHDAD, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Violent protests broke out Thursday at the oilfields in the southern Iraqi oil hub of Basra over lack of jobs and basic services, a local police source said.
In the morning, protesters blocked the roads leading to the oilfields of West Qurna-1 and West Qurna-2 in north of Basra, before they broke into West Qurna-2, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The protests turned violent at the entrance of the West Qurna-2 oilfield as some protestors shoved the armed guards. One of the guards opened fire, wounding two protesters, the source said.
Angry protesters set fire to some police caravans inside the oilfield and started looting the air conditioners and other properties, while the security forces focused their attention on protecting the oil wells, the source added.
The protests in the oilfields came as protests have continued in several cities and towns in Basra province to protest the failure to bring back the public services by the government following the U.S. pullout.
On July 8, a protester was killed and three others were wounded when local police opened fire at a crowd of demonstrators protesting against rising unemployment and demanding for jobs from the oil companies on a highway at the entrance of the oil field in West Qurna-2, some 80 km north of Basra.
Russia's Lukoil is developing the West Qurna-2 oilfield, while the U.S. oil firm Exxon Mobil operates the West Qurna-1 oilfield.
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered a ministerial committee to travel to Basra to look into the protesters' demands.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Luaiby told reporters that the protests did not impact production at West Qurna-2 or other oilfields.
"Despite the continuation of the demonstrations at the oil fields, the crude oil exports continue as planned by the ministry," Luaiby said.
He said that the demonstrators have the right to get decent jobs, while pledging that his ministry will work to meet all the demands of the demonstrators in Basra.
Basra, some 550 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, is the main oil hub for Iraq, whose economy relies on oil exports for over 90 percent of its revenues.
