Power shortages spark protests in Iraq’s Wasit

Shafaq News- Wasit

Dozens of protesters took to the streets in Kut, the capital of Iraq’s Wasit province, demanding improved electricity services and the release of detainees arrested during earlier demonstrations, Shafaq News learned on Saturday.

The crowd carried banners calling for a stable power supply and the restoration of Wasit’s share of output from a local thermal power station.

The rally followed days after another bout of unrest in the city, where demonstrators shut down the Provincial Council building before security forces dispersed the crowds using tear gas. A security source also told Shafaq News that Iraqi security forces raided the homes of those involved, detaining more than 10 individuals.

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights later urged Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to halt the arrest campaign, warning that the operations mirror the “violations” linked to Iraq’s 2019 civil movement.

Iraq has witnessed a sharp rise in rally activity in recent months. According to the Verisk Maplecroft Civil Unrest Index, the country recorded the fastest relative increase among emerging markets, with protest events surging 671% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026.

Read more: Iraq’s protests: A system that learned how to contain the street