Partially torched and fully abandoned headquarters of Badr Organization in Basra. City is very quiet this morning. But it’s early. And scorching hot. 
So far, we’ve seen similar damage at other militia offices and political parties. Except Moqtada al-Sadr’s. “It’s not allowed. His Peace Brigades won’t stand for it and they’re everywhere,” one gentleman told me.
Some of the fresh graffiti scrawled on walls includes “down with the political parties” and “we demand blood.” Other than traffic police, little visible security presence on the streets.
Large groups of young men have started gathering and marching through Basra, some holding Iraqi flags, some chanting “we will in the street until tomorrow.”
With a large march of very young men running towards the Iranian consulate, many chanting “Iran, out, out!”
Iranian consulate is on fire. Protesters very pleased and filming their work as police oddly mill around them, watching.
Police told me they tried to stop the protesters but they were overwhelmed by the numbers. Now they’re just hanging around, very relaxed, chatting and joking with the very young demonstrators. Average age of the protesters is probably 18 to 21 at most.
The protesters aren’t seething or angry. They’re mostly jubilant and reckless — maybe a little intoxicated with this new found ability to impose their will. Young guys are getting a kick out of it, not sure they all have a lot of thought behind what they’re doing.
Even as columns of young men run riot thru the city, Basrawis are maintaining normal rhythms of life: sipping tea in cafes, window shopping at brightly lit stores, strolling and having weddings on a Friday night. There is unrest but it isn't exactly an uprising.
That can all change very quickly, of course, if the militias targeted by the demonstrators respond with violence. And loads of fake news being shared on social media [some by people with blue ticks] can also drive this into complete chaos.
This perspective is local. It does not speak to the implications for Iraq in general or Iraq's neighbors, which is what the think tankers like to obsess over while ignoring the people immediately impacted by events on the ground.
