Iraqi university graduates rally to demand jobs

By Ibrahim Saleh
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AA) – Dozens of unemployed university graduates protested in Nasiriyah, the provincial capital of the southern Dhi Qar province, to demand employment.

According to eyewitnesses, demonstrators blocked two bridges on the Euphrates River to traffic. Riot police were deployed in the area in an attempt to disperse protesters.

“I can’t find any job opportunity since I graduated from university two years ago,” Salem Al-Fahd, a protester, told Anadolu Agency.

Home to more than two million people, Dhi Qar province has been a hotbed for anti-government demonstrations in Iraq that began in October 2019 to protest unemployment, corruption, and lack of public services.

Last month, Nazim al-Waili resigned as governor of Dhi Qar following a series of demonstrations in the southern province.

Across the oil-rich country, the unemployment and poverty rates hit 27% and 31.7% respectively, according to the Ministry of Planning.

*Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara contributed to this report