ISHM: May 4 - 11, 2023 - Iraq
News and Press Release in English on Iraq about Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding and Protection and Human Rights; published on 11 May 2023 by EPIC
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Neighbors Attend Water Conference In Baghdad; Halbousi Faces New Political Threats; PUK To End Its Boycott Of KRG Cabinet Meetings -- On May 6, Iran's Energy Minister and Syria's Irrigation Minister visited Baghdad to participate in an international conference on water organized by the Iraqi government. Turkish ministers declined to attend and sent lower ranking officials instead. In his address to the conference, Sudani said that meetings with neighboring riparian states had focused on "the necessity of obtaining our full share of water" through diplomatic means, adding that "urgent international intervention" was needed to "save the Tigris and Euphrates." On May 8, Sunni politician Mishan al-Jubouri said there were political movements to reshape the Siyada coalition to exclude Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi. Jubouri stressed that the reformed Siyada would emerge with Khamis al-Khanjar as its sole leader. Meanwhile, a member of the Fatah coalition, a key faction within the Coordination Framework, claimed there was "political consensus" to remove Halbousi from office after parliament approves the federal budget bill. On May 10, a PUK official said the party will resume its participation in the KRG cabinet meetings (halted since December) as soon as next week. The news followed a meeting between the PUK's Qubad Talabani and KDP's Masrour Barzani, after which the two parties reportedly agreed to stop attacking each other in the media and discuss their differences regarding the rules for the upcoming regional election. In other development, on May 7, news reports said that the Interior Minister ordered the arrest of lieutenant general Ahmed Taha Hashim (Abu Ragheef) who was the head of the Committee to Investigate Corruption and Significant Crimes, (aka Committee 29), set up by former PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi. more...

Court Sentences Hisham Al-Hashimi's Convicted Killer To Death; U.S. Documents Implicate Iraqi Official In Iranian Arms Smuggling To Syria -- On May 7, an Iraqi court found a key suspect in the 2020 assassination of prominent journalist and security analyst Hisham al-Hashimi to be guilty. The court senteced the convicted culprit, former police officer Ahmed Hamdawi Owayid (also Ahmed Maarij al-Kinani), to death. On May 7, a report by The Washington Post said that leaked U.S. intelligence that was posted on the message platform Discord showed that Iraqi militias facilitated the smuggling of weapons from Iran to Syria under the guise of humanitarian aid after a deadly earthquake earlier this year. The document says that Iranian officers instructed an Iraqi militia to "embed weapons within legitimate earthquake aid," and points to the chief of staff of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Fadak al-Mohammadawi, as part of the arms smuggling scheme. In other developments, between May 4 -- 11, eleven ISIS militants and one Iraqi officer were killed in Iraqi airstrikes and clashes between militants and security forces in Kirkuk, Ninewa, Diyala, and Salah ad-Din provinces. more...

New Border Crossing Established With Turkey; Halted Oil Exports From Kurdistan And Kirkuk Expected To Resume Within Days -- On May 10, local officials in the Kurdistan region announced the opening of a new border crossing with Turkey. The new port of entry, called Zet, is located on the Iraqi side in the Mergasur district of Erbil province, and will initially be used for passengers and tourism traffic only. On May 11, the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources said that Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has sent official notice to Turkey asking it to resume Iraqi oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan. On the same day, a senior Iraqi oil official said that SOMO has signed the first of four crude oil sale contracts concerning oil produced from the Kurdsitan region and Kirkuk, adding that exports could resume within days once Turkey finishes inspecting and testing the export pipeline. In other developments, on May 8, Iraq's Oil Ministry said that the Qayyarah oil field had resumed production and export operations after a long hiatus. Up to 30,000 bpd of oil will be transported to the export ports on the gulf using railcars and tanker trucks. On May 10, Iran's Oil Minister, Javad Owji, visited Baghdad to discuss Iranian gas sales to Iraq and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the development of shared oil fields that straddle the international border between Iraq and Iran. more...