Security forces decided on Thursday to re-open Baghdad-Basra road after withdrawal of Iraqi protesters.
Dozens of Iraqi protesters stormed on Thursday Umm al-Qasr commodities port, disrupting work in the port.
The protesters are demanding better services,
said port employees and local government officials, raising the stakes in some
of the worst unrest in southern cities in months.
The move came hours after protesters set
fire to the main government building in the oil hub of Basra.
Basra and the surrounding province have been the focus of angry demonstrations
over government neglect that have rocked Iraq since
early July.
Residents are particularly angry over pollution of the local water supply,
which has put 20,000 people in hospital.
