Thousands demand separate region for Iraq's Basra

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters in Iraq's southern oil city of Basra demanded their own federal region on Saturday, akin to minority Kurds' peaceful, prosperous enclave in the country's north.

Some three thousand people took to the streets in mainly Shi'ite Basra, demanding a referendum on whether the city and surrounding province might become a semi-autonomous state.

"Yes, yes for the Basra region," demonstrators shouted.

Ahmed Ali, a 27-year-old civil servant, said Basra wanted to "cut the cord with the central government, which has brought us only trouble, poverty and unemployment."

While the odds appeared long that such a bid could succeed, it reflects Iraqis' deep discontent with the government in Baghdad and highlights the power struggle unfolding in a nation that is home to a volatile mix of religions and ethnicities.

Even as security improves across Iraq, the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite, is criticised by many Iraqis for failing to deliver basic services and prosperity.

Some in Basra, which produces three-quarters of Iraq's oil, see themselves marginalised by successive Baghdad governments since the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003 and aspire to the same status as Iraqi Kurdistan.

Kurdistan, the northern region that has enjoyed de-facto autonomy since 1991, has its own parliament and security forces, but receives budget revenues from Baghdad.