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New Iraqi committee to build nuclear reactors, combat electricity woes

The new committee will tackle a decadeslong electricity problem, which is one of the complaints of last October's protesters.

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An Iraqi man checks electrical wires in Baghdad on September 13, 2017. For years Iraqis have denounced the bad management and financial negligence that have stifled the country and let its infrastructure fall apart despite the injection of billions of dollars. — AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered on Sept. 24 the formation of a committee tasked with overseeing the building of nuclear reactors for research purposes, according to the Iraqi Commission for Control of Radioactive Sources.

Electricity shortages have plagued the country for decades due to years of destruction in conflict and rampant corruption claims. The energy shortages were one of the more vocal complaints of last October’s protests that gripped the country. And Kadhimi’s injunction now comes amid renewed calls for protests later this week.

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