Protests continued to escalate in Basra on Tuesday, as demonstrators threatened shut down all roads leading to the super-giant West Qurna 1 oil field. Outraged protesters have flocked back to several oil sites in Basra following a message Friday from Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who encouraged his followers to express their displeasure about the Iraqi government’s failures to address problems of corruption, unemployment, and lack of basic services.