Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi fired a number of senior officials from the Ministry of Electricity amid the current electricity and water shortage crisis that sparked protests throughout the country.

“Based on the directives of the Prime Minister Haider Abadi to carry out reforms to serve the interest of the country and our people and the provision of electricity to citizens, a set of orders was issued today that exempt a number of senior officials from investment and contracts departments, and the distribution of electricity in Baghdad and the administrative department,” a statement released by Abadi’s office said.

The statement added that Abadi will make “changes” to the legal, recruitment, control and other departments.

Iraq’s Commission of Integrity released a midterm report on Thursday stating that investigations done up till now lead to judicial authorities to hand out 1071 arrest warrants, 476 of which were implemented since the beginning of the year.

According to Transparency International, Iraq is positioned as number 166 out of 176 countries on the list of most corrupt countries.

This comes after Abadi last announced plans of publishing a list of corrupt government officials on the 1st of August while stressing on the seriousness of responding to the demands of the protesters who swept Iraq's main cities on July 8, especially in southern Iraq, as people have vented their anger over unemployment, high prices, power cuts and a lack of water.

Al Arabiya