Hungry Iraqis protest food inflation as officials blame Russia

March 15, 2022 Pytha

The Middle East is in an uproar over inflation and food shortages, which are being blamed on Russia.

Al Jazeera reported that impoverished Iraqis have erupted in protests in recent days over unaffordable food amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

For the past week, the price of cooking oils and flour have skyrocketed in local markets. The Iraqi people are angrier than ever about it, and the Iraqi government is deflecting every which way it can to try to quell it.

Protesters reportedly gathered in a central square in the southern city of Nasiriya, “a flashpoint of anti-corruption protests that gripped the country in 2019,” according to reports.

The Middle East is particularly dependent upon food and commodity imports from Ukraine and Russia. The conflict is exacerbating problems with the supply chain and corrupt monetary policy that were already driving up prices and causing shortages before the Russian invasion