Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Basra

Graduates of Iraq's petroleum institutes protested outside the Oil Ministry in Baghdad on Sunday, demanding government jobs in the oil sector, according to a Shafaq News correspondent.

The protesters urged the government to provide jobs for petroleum institute graduates, arguing that their qualifications directly match the needs of Iraq's oil and energy sector.

Oil Minister Bassim Mohammed Khudair met the protesting graduates and said the ministry was pursuing their demands through formal correspondence with the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance. He said the ministry needed additional personnel and expertise at its self-financed, profit-generating companies and contracting firms.

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In the southern province of Basra, protests by engineers and science graduates outside oil companies continued for a second consecutive week, a Shafaq News correspondent reported, with demonstrators demanding appointments and job opportunities. Basra is Iraq's main oil-producing province and the center of its export industry.

Security forces forcibly dispersed the Basra protest, the correspondent said, but demonstrators continued their action.

The protesters said they would continue demonstrating until the Oil Ministry and other government bodies address their demands for employment.