Basra
Monarchy to Saddam era: 1921–2003

During World War II, Basra was an important port through which flowed much of the equipment and supplies sent to the Soviet Union by other Allies of World War II. At the end of the war, the city's population numbered approximately 93,000 people.

The population of Basra was 101,535 in 1947, and reached 219,167 in 1957. The University of Basrah was founded in 1964. By 1977, the population had risen to a peak population of some 1.5 million. The population declined during the Iran–Iraq War, being under 900,000 in the late 1980s, possibly reaching a low point of just over 400,000 during the worst of the war. The city was repeatedly shelled by Iran and was the site of many fierce battles, such as Operation Ramadan (1982) and the Siege of Basra (1987).

After the war, Saddam erected 99 memorial statues to Iraqi military officers killed during the war along the bank of the Shatt-al-Arab river, all pointing their fingers towards Iran. After the 1991 Gulf War a rebellion against Saddam erupted in Basra. The widespread revolt was against the Iraqi government who violently put down the rebellion, with much death and destruction inflicted on Basra.

As part of the Iraqi no-fly zones conflict, United States Air Force fighter jets carried out two airstrikes against Basra on 25 January 1999. The airstrikes resulted in missiles landing in the al-Jumhuriya neighborhood of Basra, killed 11 Iraqi civilians and wounding 59. General Anthony Zinni, then commander of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, acknowledged that it was possible that "a missile may have been errant." While such casualty numbers pale in comparison to later events, the bombing occurred one day after Arab foreign ministers, meeting in Egypt, refused to condemn four days of air strikes against Iraq in December 1998. This was described by Iraqi information minister Human Abdel-Khaliq as giving U.S.-led forces "an Arab green card" to continue their involvement in the conflict.

A second revolt in 1999 led to mass executions by the Iraqi government in and around Basra. Subsequently, the Iraqi government deliberately neglected the city, and much commerce was diverted to Umm Qasr. These alleged abuses are to feature amongst the charges against the former regime to be considered by the Iraq Special Tribunal set up by the Iraq Interim Government following the 2003 invasion.

Workers in Basra's oil industry have been involved in extensive organization and labour conflict. They held a two-day strike in August 2003, and formed the nucleus of the independent General Union of Oil Employees (GUOE) in June 2004. The union held a one-day strike in July 2005, and publicly opposes plans for privatizing the industry.
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