Murder rate soars in Basra as political parties battle over oil

The city of Basra in southern Iraq is suffering from a soaring murder rate, a tattered oil industry, and a terrified population, the New York Times will report on Tuesday page ones, RAW STORY has learned. Excerpts:
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Western-style politics, once seen as the solution to the problems of one-party rule, have degenerated into deadly fighting among the Shi'ite political parties for control of the province and its oil reserves.

There were almost 85 killings in the city in May, nearly triple the number in January.

Police reports from the past five months include the murder of eight oil company employees, the discovery of twenty caches of Russian rockets, including one cache in the back of an ambulance, and shoot-outs among different factions of the police.

DEVELOPING....