ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Dozens of residents of Iraq’s southern oil-rich Basra province protested on Monday outside the provincial office, calling on local authorities to suspend planned demolitions of informal housing areas until alternative solutions are provided. 

Manaf Jassim Abdulkarim, a protester, told The New Region that over 1,000 informal houses across Basra are at risk of demolition.

“Houses are the only shelter for poor families, people with disabilities, and widows,” he said, warning that carrying out demolitions without proper alternatives would displace hundreds os families and create “new social problems” in the province. 

Another protester, Qasim Fadel Salman, said, “Many residents were forced into informal housing because of sharply rising rents and the lack of government housing for low-income groups.”

Protesters are calling for a comprehensive government plan that includes alternative housing or fair compensation under clear legal procedures, according to Salman. 

Informal housing units in Basra are spread across wide areas, particularly in the province’s southwest and east. They are often in locations linked to existing or planned infrastructure projects, with residents warning that this has increased fears of sudden demolitions without prior solutions. 

Protesters urged the Basra Provincial Council to intervene urgently and coordinate with relevant authorities to form a joint committee to assess affected families and develop legal and humanitarian remedies. They warned they would continue demonstrations if their demands were not met.