Basra: Traders in the Al-Ashar district of Basra are pleading for help, as organized begging networks are invading the markets and disrupting trade. Shop owners in the Al-Ashar district, the commercial heart of Basra, have issued an urgent appeal to the local government and security leaders, demanding an end to the organized begging phenomenon that has become a heavy burden on the area’s economic and social fabric. They allege organized networks and the recruitment of beggars from outside the province.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, several merchants in Al-Ashar confirmed in a video that the phenomenon is no longer isolated incidents but has transformed into an “organized trade” run by entities that bring in dozens of women and children from other provinces and distribute them in busy markets.

The merchants indicated that these beggars are transported and housed in apartments and hotels in the Umm al-Baroum Square area before being deployed daily to the streets of Al-Ashar, Al-Sakafiya, and Al-Maghaiz. This disrupts commercial activity and puts pressure on citizens.

The shop owners described their daily suffering at the hands of beggars who occupy shop entrances even before official working hours begin, emphasizing that they are subjected to constant harassment, including being pursued inside shops and forced to leave with demands for specific sums of money. That’s all for now.