Basra doctors on strike, demand protection

[Barrett808]

Source: IRIN

BAGHDAD, 25 July 2007 (IRIN) - Nearly 150 doctors in Basra, Iraq's second largest city about 600km south of Baghdad, began a three-day strike on 23 July, demanding the government protect them and their families.

"We will not attend our clinics and will not do operations for three days to draw to the government's attention our plight as doctors living in harsh conditions," said Dr Muaid Jumaa, head of the Basra Doctors' Association.

Jumaa said 12 doctors had been killed in Basra by unidentified gunmen since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, and dozens of others had fled the city.

"We are protesting against the assassinations, kidnappings, threats and blackmail facing doctors in Basra and calling on the government to shoulder its responsibilities in protecting this important sector of our society," Jumaa said.

"The government has to improve the security situation in the province and this is not hard," he continued.

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