Key Takeaways:
New Election Law Faces Objections; President Offers To Resign As Deadline To Name New PM Expires; U.S.-Iraq Relations Shaken By Militia Rocket Strikes And U.S. Retaliation; Militias Attack U.S. Embassy Compound – On December 20, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said early elections were the “nearest and safest way out of the current crisis.” On December 24, Parliament approved a new election law that will set up smaller electoral districts and enable candidates to run for office as individuals rather than on party lists. Analysts and activists argue that the law contains ambiguities that existing parties can manipulate to stay in power. On December 26, President Salih offered to resign after negotiations to name a new PM reached an impasse and the Dec 23 deadline expired. Salih said he preferred to resign rather than support candidates rejected by the people. On December 30, Iraq’s national security council threatened to reconsider relations with the U.S.-led Coalition, saying the U.S. violated Iraq’s sovereignty by conducting unauthorized airstrikes (responding to a rocket attack that killed an American citizen) against Kataib Hezbollah. PM Abdul-Mahdi, President Salih, Moqtada al-Sadr, and Ayatollah Sistani condemned the U.S. unilateral action. On December 31, Kataib Hezbollah supporters attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, causing cosmetic damage before withdrawing. Senior militia commanders Hadi al-Amiri, Qais al-Khazali and Falih al-Fayadh participated. Iraq’s president, PM and speaker of parliament condemned the embassy attack, saying that transgression against diplomatic missions damaged Iraq’s interests and reputation. more…
Assassins Target Several Activists; Militiamen Killed in U.S. Response To Rocket Attacks; Iraqi Forces Conduct Major Operation Across Four Provinces As Militant Attacks Continue – On December 20, two activists were injured and a two others were killed in three separate attacks near Nasiriyah. In Baghdad, a political satirist survived a drive-by shooting in Baghdad. On December 25, a group of young men attacked protesters in Karbala with bladed weapons and gunfire, injuring at least two. On December 30, gunmen used silenced weapons to assassinate activist Ali al-Khafaji in Nasiriyah. On December 27, at least 30 rockets hit the K-1 military base in Kirkuk, killing one U.S. contractor. The U.S. accused Kataib Hezbollah of launching the attack and killed at least 25 militiamen in retaliatory airstrikes near al-Qaim. On December 23, a car bomb killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded an officer in Anbar. On December 24, two IEDs in Ninewa killed two members of the Iraqi security forces and injured five. On December 24, ISIS militants attacked the Khabbaz oil field west of Kirkuk, killing one policeman and wounding two. On December 24, an IED killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded three in Salah ad-Din. On December 29, Iraqi forces launched a major operation across Kirkuk, Diyala, Ninewa, Salah ad-Din and the Jazira desert. Operations resulted in the discovery and/or destruction dozens of ISIS tunnels and hideouts and large amounts of weapons. Iraqi forces also killed nine ISIS militants. On December 30, an IED exploded south of Fallujah killing five children. On December 30, an IED explosion injured a brigade commander in the Iraqi army in Kirkuk. On December 31, Iraqi forces and International Coalition airstrikes killed 11 ISIS militants in Ninewa. more…
UN Rights Commissioner Criticizes Baghdad’s Failure To Respond To Attacks On Activists; Iraqi Rights Group Counts 68 Kidnappings And 33 Assassinations Since Oct 1 – On December 20, the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement condemning the ongoing assassinations and forced disappearances targeting Iraqi activists and criticized the Iraqi government’s failure to bring the perpetrators before the law. On December 24, Reliefweb reported that the UAE government decided to provide $2.5 to support water and sanitation projects in Sinjar. On December 26, UNHCR said that the Netherlands has provided $5.6 million to support IDPs and refugees in Iraq with legal and psychological support services. On December 28, Iraq’s High Commission For Human Rights (IHCHR) said that at least 68 people have been kidnapped or forcibly disappeared since Iraq’s popular anti-government protests began on October 1. The IHCHR also reported that at least 33 assassination attempts on activists have killed 14 and wounded 19 during the same period. more…
Protesters Force Temporary Oil Field Shutdown; Iraq Invites Bids For Pipeline To Jordan; Oil Exports Slightly Down, But Revenue Rises – Protesters forced the Oil Ministry on December 29 to suspend production at the 80,000 bpd Nasiriyah oil field in Dhi-Qar province for 1 day. On December 22, protesters near Basra blocked the roads leading to the Rumaila oilfield and on the 24th tried to break into the West Qurna-1 oil field, while others shut down the Maqal port on the Shatt al-Arab waterway. On December 25, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said it has invited prequalified engineering firms to submit their bids for the building a long-planned, 2.25 million bpd oil pipeline from Basra to the Jordanian port of Aqaba. Iraq hopes to select the winning bids before the end of 2020. On January 2, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil announced that crude oil exports for December averaged 3.428 million bpd, about 72,000 bpd lower than November’s 3.5 million bpd. These exports generated over $6.7 billion in revenue, $400 million above November’s figures. 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.