BAGHDAD/DUBAI: Iraq, a major Middle East wheat and rice importer, has replaced the head of its state grain buying agency, government sources and a document showed on Tuesday.
Naeem Al-Maksousi was replaced with Hassanein Mehdi Elwan, a document seen by Reuters showed.
Iraq’s grain board is responsible for wheat and rice purchases to supply for the country’s large food rationing program.
This comes as Iraq faces mass demonstrations against corruption, unemployment and failed public services.
The uprising over the past week has abruptly ended two years of relative calm unseen in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Many Iraqis, especially young people, say entrenched government corruption means they received no benefit from returning stability after years of foreign occupation and sectarian civil war.
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