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More than 110.000 people infected by water pollution in Iraq’s Basra

 More than 110.000 people infected by water pollution in Iraq’s Basra

Shatt al-Arab, Basra, Iraq.

Shatt al-Arab, Basra, Iraq.

Basra (IraqiNews.com) Water contamination in Iraq’s southern province of Basra has caused more than 110.000 people to fall sick,  an official in the province said as it struggles to overcome a water crisis that caused recent protests.

Baghdad Today quoted Mahdi al-Tamimi, head of the Human Rights Commission’s office in Basra, saying in press statements that “poisoning cases in the province are on the rise, which denotes the absence of solution to water salinity and contamination”.

“Cases caused by the drinking of contaminated water have surpassed 110.000, and those are suffering intestinal disorders and vomiting”, Tamimi said. “sewage-like water are pumped to some areas”.

Iraq’s Basra had witnessed violent protests since early September over multiple social grievances, most notably water shortages and contamination. Some Iraqis officials had said Iran  pumped contaminated water left over from its farmlands towards Iraqi territories, which prompted some Iraqi protesters to set the Iranian consulate in Basra on fire.

Outgoing Iraqi premier Haider al-Abadi had made directives to address the situation and deliver enough water quantities.

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