Monday 3 October 2016

Basra: Hopes of Iraq’s oil capital going up in flames — FT.com

Basra: Hopes of Iraq’s oil capital going up in flames — FT.com:

"When Munir started out as an oil contractor in Basra in 2007, Iraq was under occupation and suffering a brutal insurgency. Even that, he laments, was better than what he has to deal with now. “Back then if we had a problem, we went to the Americans to fix it,” he says. “No one dared cause trouble.”

Munir is one of dozens of frustrated businessmen in the southern city who are waiting to be paid back by a government dealing with a crippling debt crisis. To make matters worse, reports of robberies, kidnappings and assault have risen as the money used to pacify local militias and tribes dries up.

“How can a foreign investor protect himself, when I, a local, can’t protect myself?” says Munir, who asked to change his name for safety reasons.

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