Saltar al contenido principal

ISHM: August 20 - August 27, 2020

Países
Iraq
Fuentes
EPIC
Fecha de publicación
Origen
Ver original

Key Takeaways:

  • Eighteen Diplomatic Missions Condemn Violence Against Activists; Protesters Demand Justice, Attack Party Offices In Dhi-Qar And Basra; New Protests, Clashes In The Kurdistan Region – On August 21, eighteen foreign diplomatic missions to Iraq issued a joint statement condemning the “assassinations and intimidation” targeting Iraqi activists after a deadly week during which gunmen murdered and wounded several people in Basra. The statement urged Iraqi leaders to protect activists and take the necessary actions to punish the perpetrators. On August 21, protesters in Basra burned the local office of the Iraqi Parliament and demanded the resignation of the governor after a series of assassinations that targeted local activists last week. In Nasiriyah, angry protesters burned the offices of several political parties and demolished some of them with bulldozers after a bombing attack injured at least two protesters. Basra’s governor and representatives of the Fatah and State of Law coalitions accused protesters of executing foreign-designed conspiracies. On August 23, PM Kadhimi traveled to Basra and met with the family of an Iraqi activist who was assassinated by last week. He pledged to capture and punish the killers, calling the latest assassinations a dangerous security breach, and urging security chiefs to do their best to expose the assassins and restore the locals’ trust in security forces. On August 23, *Rudaw *reported that several towns in the Kurdistan region, including Halabja and Kalar, witnessed angry protests overnight, some of which reportedly involved violence. Protesters are demanding the government pay their months-delayed salaries, held up by budget disputes with Baghdad and low oil prices, without deductions. The region’s PM condemned the alleged destruction of public property by protesters, calling these acts “criminal.” more…

  • Parliament May Vote On Election Law Next Week; Iraq, Egypt and Jordan Hold Summit Meetings; Kadhimi Meets French And Saudi Ministers; Plasschaert Blames Dysfunction On “Zero-Sum Politics” – On August 24, a member of Parliament said lawmakers will start the next legislative season on September 3 and will attempt to pass the Supreme Federal Court Law and the Election Law annexes concerning the number and borders of electoral districts. But other representative said the political blocs were not in agreement on the distribution of electoral districts, citing four proposals presented by the political blocs, in addition to a fifth proposal submitted by the UN mission for Iraq (UNAMI). On August 25, PM Kadhimi met King Abdullah of Jordan and President Sisi of Egypt as part of a trilateral summit in the Jordanian capital. At the summit, Kadhimi underlined Iraq’s desire for balanced relations with its neighbors and for “economic cooperation and integration” between the three Arab states. Kadhimi stressed that Iraq is committed to building on the discussions the three countries initiated in March of 2019, and expressed hope for a “new Levant” of “peace, integration and openness.” On August 26, Falih al-Fayyadh, the chairman of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Commission visited Damascus and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as an envoy of PM Kadhimi to discuss cooperation in counter-terrorism and improving security along the Iraqi-Syrian border. On August 26, UNAMI chief, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert briefed the UN Security Council on the tough challenges Iraq faces, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: 11 million students losing access to regular schooling, an economy shrinking by 10%, rising poverty, three million Iraqis without enough food, and a spike in violence targeting activists. Plasschaert stressed that “an environment that promotes inclusive growth and employment remains the best remedy against unrest, conflict and external interference.” On August 27, the French Defense Minister met PM Kadhimi in Baghdad and expressed France’s readiness to resume the mission of training Iraqi Security Forces as soon as possible. Kadhimi also met with the Saudi Foreign Minister who said the kingdom looks forward to a visit by Kadhimi to Riyadh soon. more…

  • New Attacks Target Iraqi Activists; Bombings, Direct ISIS Attacks Escalate; Turkish Airstrikes Near Sinjar Kill Civilians – On August 20, unknown gunmen with silenced weapons attempted to assassinate three Iraqi activists in Babylon province. The following day, an IED exploded wounding two protesters in Nasiriyah. Between August 21 – 23, three IEDs targeted contractors transporting supplies for the International Coalition, killing one civilian near Baghdad. Between August 20 – 26, eight IEDs in Salah ad-Din, Ninewa, Kirkuk and Diyala killed eight people and injured 25 more, including Iraqi civilians, members of Iraq’s security forces (ISF) and two UN employees. Between August 23 – 25, ISIS militants launched at least six attacks civilians and ISF positions in Anbar, Diyala and Kirkuk, killing six ISF members and wounding nine, and kidnapping, killing or wounding at least seven civilians. On August 23, the International Coalition against ISIS transferred control of “Site 8” at Camp Taji to the ISF and gave the ISF equipment and facilities worth more than $345 million. On August 26, Turkish drone strikes hit a vehicle and other targets near Sinjar, west of Mosul. The airstrikes killed at least two civilians. more…

  • Access Restrictions Impact Assistance For 230,000 Iraqis In Need; COVID-19 Cases Approach 220,000 – On August 23, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that aid organizations reported more than 70 incidents of access restrictions that impacted 22 different districts in July. Almost all of the incidents were the result of “administrative restrictions” on the work and movement of aid organizations. These restrictions negatively impacted the delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to more than 230,000 people, nearly all of whom concentrated in Ninewa and Kirkuk. On August 27, the Ministry of Health reported that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 219,435. Deaths from confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 6,740 while a total of 161,000 patients have recovered. To date, Iraq has tested 1,524,864 samples for COVID-19. more…

  • Iraq Eyes Reduced Energy Imports From Iran Next Year; Court Blocks Renewal Of Mobile Network Operators’ Licences – On August 22, Iraq’s Finance Minister said that Iraq could significantly reduce its dependence on gas and electricity imported from Iran by as early as next year. Iraq’s Oil Minister shared his colleague’s optimism about Iraq’s gas outlook, predicting that Iraq will stop importing gas altogether by the year 2025. On August 25, a member of Iraq’s Parliament said an Iraqi court issued an order to suspend the license renewal for the country’s major mobile network operators after an influential member of Parliament filed a lawsuit to suspend the license renewals for AsiaCell, Korek and Zain, alleging the contracts involved legal violations and harmed public interest. more…

For more background on most of the institutions, key actors, political parties, and locations mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.