Protester killed as demonstrations block key Iraq port near Basra

One person was killed in Iraq's southern city of Basra, an official said on Wednesday, as protestors blocked a port and set fire to a government building in escalating protests over lack of services and corruption.

An AFP journalist reported gunshots and tear gas were fired by security personnel directly at demonstrators who had gathered in the thousands outside the regional government headquarters.

The measures failed to disperse the protesters, who responded by hurling Molotov cocktails and letting off fireworks at the security forces.

The death brings to six the number of protesters in clashes with security forces in recent days, with five killed by live fire on Tuesday.

The troubles underline decades of neglect in the south, the heartland of Iraq's Shia majority. The region suffers from electricity outages, unemployment and entrenched corruption.

Security forces later stopped firing in the direction of protesters and instead fired shots in the air and used tear gas.

"One demonstrator was killed and 25 wounded, including some seriously," said Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of the government's human rights council in Basra province.

Port and highway blocked

Also on Wednesday, protesters blocked the entrance to Iraq's Umm Qasr commodities port to demand better services, port employees and local government, officials said, raising the stakes in some of the worst unrest in southern cities in months.

The move came hours after stone-throwing protesters set fire to the main provincial government building in Basra, Iraq's second-biggest city. The highway from Basra to Baghdad was blocked by demonstrators.

"Protesters have blocked the main entrance to the port. Trucks that carry supplies can't enter or leave the facility," said one of the officials.

Any potential disruptions to oil production could severely impact Iraq's limping economy as the OPEC member faces the overwhelming task of rebuilding after a war with the Islamic State (IS) group that cost tens of billions of dollars.

Umm Qasr receives Iraq's grain, vegetable oils and sugar shipments. So far it is not clear if the unrest will have a serious impact on the port's operations.

Security and health sources said 22 members of the security forces had been injured in Tuesday's violence, some by a hand grenade.

Basra residents say salt seeping into the water supply has made it undrinkable and sent hundreds to hospital. This is proof, they say, that infrastructure has been allowed to collapse in the part of Iraq that produces most of its oil wealth.

Oil exports from Basra - a crumbling city once dubbed the "Venice of the Middle East" for its network of canals resembling the Italian city - account for more than 95 percent of state revenues.

Basra is a stronghold of Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric and former leader of an anti-American sectarian militia who has recast himself as an anti-corruption campaigner.

Public anger has grown at a time when politicians are struggling to form a new government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in May. Sadr's bloc came in first place in the vote.

Iraq's top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has expressed support for the protests.