Iraq: ISHM: February 13 - February 20, 2020
Key Takeaways:
Constitutional Amendments Committee Stumbles; KDP, PUK And Halbousi Demand Share In New Government; Allawi Promises An “Independent” Cabinet Next Week; U.S., UN Condemn Continuing Violence Against Protesters – On February 16, political sources said the 18-member committee charged with formulating constitutional amendments has made very little progress toward completing its mission before its 4-month mandate expires next week. On February 16, Speaker Habousi met with KDP leader Masoud Barzani to discuss a joint approach towards PM-designate Mohammed Allawi’s plans for government formation. A joint statement stressed that the new government must “represent all components of Iraq, and on the basis of national partnership,” euphemism for the rules of the ethno-sectarian quota system. On February 17, Masoud Barzani objected to Allawi’s method of selecting his cabinet members, saying he must consult with Kurdish leaders before selecting ministers who would represent them in government. A PUK member said the party would not approve of any Kurdish ministers if they were to be selected from outside the PUK. Moqtada al-Sadr’s Saeroun bloc threatened earlier to confirm Allawi’s government through a majority vote in Parliament, regardless of consensus. Despite these disagreements, PM-designate Mohammad Allawi issued a statement on February 19 in which he called on Parliament to hold an extraordinary session on February 24 to confirm his new “independent” government. Allawi urged members of Parliament to consider what’s in the national interest and not to let “private interests prevent them from making the right decision.” On February 17, UNAMI condemned the continuing violence and use of excessive force against protesters, pointing out that at least 200 protesters were injured by pellet guns and birdshot fired by government forces in Baghdad and Karbala, including 59 in Baghdad during the previous three days alone. The following day, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker urged Iraqi leaders to put an end to such “criminal” practices and hold the perpetrators accountable. more…
New Rockets Target K-1 Base, U.S. Embassy; Major Operation Ends With Limited Results; Foreign Oil Workers Injured In Attack – On February 13, an IED wounded three soldiers in Abu Ghraib district, west of Baghdad. On February 13, a katyusha rocket struck the K-1 Iraqi military base, which also hosts U.S. military personnel in Kirkuk. On February 13, Iraqi forces concluded a large-scale operation launched on February 12 in Iraq’s western desert. They discovered weapons and arrested two suspects but did not report killing any militants during the operation that covered more than 26,200 square kilometers. On February 15, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service killed ten ISIS militants in an air assault operation in the Himrin Mountains. On February 16, three katyusha rockets landed near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. On February 16, an attack by unidentified gunmen at the Halfaya oil field in Maysan wounded two Chinese oil workers. On February 18, suspected ISIS militants killed four civilians and injured two in an attack on a village northwest of Kirkuk. On February 20, IED wounded three soldiers south of Mosul. more…
Government Builds Camp To Resettle 4,000 Refugees From Al-Hol; Migration Ministry Says 86 IDP Camps Remain Across Iraq; UN Report Says 350,000 Displaced Children Can’t Attend School – On February 15, Migration Ministry said that Iraqi authorities were building a new camp near the Syrian border in Ninewa to resettle 4,000 Iraqis who wish to return from the Syrian camp of al-Hol. The plan has been met with push-back from local officials and Ninewa residents who fear that many of these refugees have alleged ties to ISIS fighters. On February 16, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Migration stated that the number of IDP camps in Iraq has decreased from 184 to 86 camps, concentrated mostly in Ninewa, Anbar and the provinces of the KRI. On February 17, UNAMI and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented a report describing the lasting impact of the ISIS conflict on access to education for children displaced from their home districts. According to the report, there are 658,000 displaced children in Iraq, of whom about a half, 355,000 children, do not attend school. UNAMI and OHCHR proposed a series of recommendations for the Iraqi government, including easing enrollment restrictions due to missing documentation. more…
Iraq Repairs Rail Links To Port, Refineries; New Oil Storage Tanks Built At Faw; One in Five Iraqis Below The Poverty Line; Public Sector Wages To Cost $8.5 Billion More In 2020 – On February 15, the Minister of Transportation said that Iraq’s Railway Company has completed the construction of rail connections to all docs at the Umm Qasr port in Basra as well as repair works on a railway connecting the Qayyarah refinery in Ninewa to the Baiji refineries in Salah ad-Din province. On February 15, the director of Ibn Majid General Company said his company completed the construction of six new oil storage tanks at the Faw oil depot in Basra with a total storage capacity of 464,000 cubic meters. On February 16, the Ministry of Planning released new figures about poverty in Iraq that showed a slight decline over a five-year period, from 22.5% in 2014 to 20% at the end of 2018. The three provinces of the KRI and Kirkuk had the lowest poverty levels, with Sulaymaniyah having the lowest rate at 4.5%. Some southern provinces were the poorest in the country, including al-Muthanna (52%), Diwaniyah (48%), and Dhi-Qar and Maysan (44% and 45%, respectively). On February 17, the financial affairs adviser to the Iraqi prime minister said that public sector payroll will increase by ID10-11 trillion (~$8.5 billion) in 2020 to pay the wages and salaries for over 500,000 civil servants, mostly re-hired employees and contractors converted to permanent positions. 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.