Iraq parliament to convene for emergency session to discuss Basra protests
The Iraqi city of Basra has been rocked by growing protests since July.
Iraqi protesters demonstrate against the government and the lack of basic services in Basra on September 6, 2018.
Iraqi authorities have shut down the key port Umm Qasr over Basra protests in the country.
Protesters blocked the entrance to Umm Qasr port, the main lifeline for grain and other commodity imports that feed the country.
The Iraqi parliament will hold an emergency session Saturday to discuss a water contamination crisis which has triggered protests in which eight people have died in the southern city Basra.
Lawmakers would "discuss the problems, the solutions and the latest situation" in the city, where anger over poor public services has boiled over after the hospitalisation of 30,000 people who had drunk polluted water, a statement said on Friday.
Prime Minister Haider al Abadi and a number of key ministers are to attend the session, which was demanded by populist cleric Muqtada al Sadr, whose political bloc won the largest number of seats in May elections.
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