Iraq: Basra’s Wealth Extracted, Its People Abandoned

May 28, 2025 | Kamaran Aziz
Kurdistan24
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Basra, the city often hailed as Iraq’s economic engine and the heart of its oil wealth, is now synonymous with suffering. Despite its vast petroleum reserves, the southern province endures crippling poverty and escalating environmental collapse, exposing a painful irony at the core of Iraq’s resource management. The Basra Office of Human Rights reports that poverty in the province has surged to nearly 40%, while environmental contamination has reached catastrophic levels.