Iraq News Now

Key Takeaways:

• **Intense Competition Over Cabinet Positions Obstructs Government Formation; Kadhimi Presents Political Blocs With Partial Cabinet; Finance Minister Under Fire Over KRG Payments – **On April 19, the Nasr coalition said that sharp disagreements over the allocation of government positions were obstructing cabinet formation efforts by PM-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi. On April 20, parliamentary sources said Kadhimi was facing serious obstacles reflecting multiple sources of pressure: Shia demands for a commitment to expel U.S. forces; Sunni demands for reconstruction funds, IDPs return, and expelling militias from their cities; Kurdish demands for upholding financial arrangements between the KRG and the outgoing government; and competing demands for specific cabinet positions. On April 21, political sources spoke of stiff competition between political parties over key security positions, especially the national security advisory and national intelligence. On April 21, several MPs broke away from the Iraqi Forces Alliance, the Sunni bloc led by Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, accusing him of trying to corner the ministries intended for Sunni parties. On April 22, political sources said the new government will include, 11 Shia ministers, six Sunnis, three Kurds, one Christian and one Turkman. The Gorran (Change) party said said earlier that Kurdish parties must get six ministries, on par with their Sunni counterparts. On April 22, political sources said the main political blocs reneged on their promises to let Mustafa al-Kadhimi freely pick his cabinet ministers, saying they were “demanding shares based on so called electoral entitlement,” adding that there are disputes within the blocs about the internal allocation of government positions. On April 22, Kadhimi met with the leaders of Shia blocs to discuss his cabinet formation, reportedly presenting them with his picks for a partial cabinet that includes several current and former ministers and several new, ostensibly independent figures, but leaves out several portfolios, including defense and interior. The political parties asked Kadhimi for 48 hours to study the names before resuming negotiations, but initial reactions indicate that few, if any of the stakeholders were satisfied with the picks. On April 23, a group of 25 members of Parliament filed a complaint against Finance Minister Fouad Hussein accusing him of “exploiting his position and deliberately squandering public funds” by making billions in payments to the KRG in violation of the 2019 budget law. more…
• **New String Of Bombings Strikes Diyala; Gunmen Attack Baghdad Protesters; PM Separates Four Brigades From The Popular Mobilization Forces Commission – **On April 17, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) killed one civilian and injured two more in Diyala. On April 17, an IED killed a civilian north of Mosul. On April 18, an explosion in a booby-trapped building wounded six members of the Iraqi security forces (ISF) in Diyala. On April 18, two rockets struck near oil installations southeast of Baghdad without causing casualties. On April 18, two IEDs wounded three civilians and a small arms attack injured two Iraqi soldiers in Diyala. On April 18, militants fired three mortar rounds at an Iraqi army unit in Anbar. On April 19, Iraqi airstrikes killed 14 ISIS militants in Salah ad-Din. On April 19, ISIS militants killed two Iraqi soldiers southeast of Mosul and another soldier in Kirkuk. On April 20, ISIS militants killed five members of the ISF and wounded five more in multiple IED and small arms attacks in Diyala. On April 21, an IED wounded two Iraqi soldiers in Diyala. On April 21, men armed with rifles dressed in civilian clothes opened fire on protesters at Tahrir square, injuring between six and ten of them. On April 21, three IEDs killed five members of the popular mobilization forces (PMF), two civilians and wounded five more fighters between northern Salah ad-Din and southern Ninewa provinces. On April 22, the ISF killed seven ISIS militants in Diyala while an IED killed one member of the ISF and wounded seven more. On April 22, two PMF fighters were wounded while repelling an ISIS attack in Babylon province. On April 22, an IED wounded two civilians west of Mosul. On April 22, care-taker PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi issued orders to PMF commission chairman Falih al-Fayyadh detaching four PMF brigades from the commission and placing them directly under his authority as the commander in chief. more…

• **Iraq Relaxes Curfew During Ramadan; Iraq Press Freedom Ranking Drops; COVID-19 Cases At 1,677; Access Problems Limit Aid Agencies Work – **On April 19, the Iraqi government issued new guidelines for containing the COVID-19 outbreak that will relax the curfew during the upcoming of Ramadan. The government will keep schools, malls, event halls, stadiums and places of worship closed while allowing most other commercial businesses to reopen while observing no-crowding rules. The government is also keeping the ban on international and domestic travel between provinces and asking all Iraqis to wear face masks outdoors. On April 19, Iraq decided to let Reuters resume its work in the country after it had withheld the news agency’s permit over a controversial report that suggested Iraq was hiding the true volume of COVID-19 cases. However, Iraq dropped six positions in the latest annual press freedom index released by Reporters without Borders. On April 22, Human Rights Watch urged Iraqi lawmakers to enact a legislation against domestic violence after a young woman died in Najaf from severe burns, amid strong suspicions that her husband and his family were the culprits. Meanwhile, health and aid workers have reported a sharp increase in domestic and gender-based violence as a result of COVID-19 movement restrictions. On April 22, Iraq’s Health Minister said that Iraq had enough resources to manage the COVID-19 crisis “for several months,” thanks to donations from several countries, like the U.S. and Kuwait, as well as from domestic donors. On April 23, Iraq’s Health Ministry reported that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 1,677 while deaths from the virus reached 83 and a total of 1,171 patients have recovered. On April 23, the KRG extended for a week a partial curfew in the region which has been reporting a decline in new COVID-19 cases. On April 23, the office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that “administrative difficulties” and anti-COVID-19 measures were presenting access problems for aid organizations operating in Iraq, adversely impacting aid delivery to communities needing assistance. more…

• **KRG Delays Payments To Oil Operators; Baghdad And Erbil Agree On Oil Cuts, Discuss Gas Investments; Baghdad And Erbil Struggle To Pay Salaries As Oil Prices Drop – **On April 17, a foreign oil company operating in the KRI said the KRG will delay paying oil companies for several months worth of oil production “interest free, for at least nine months.” On April 19, Iraq’s Oil Minister said he reached an agreement with a KRG delegation on reducing oil production in accordance with Iraq’s obligations to cut 1.06 million bpd under the recent OPEC+ plan to reduce global supply. The two sides also discussed investments in the KRI undeveloped gas fields for the purpose of generating natural gas to fuel power plants across Iraq. On April 20, a spokesman for the Iraqi government said that Iraq’s Finance Ministry was studying proposals to revise the public salary system in response to the financial crisis precipitated by the collapse of oil prices. The proposals include reducing salaries by 25% across the board, slashing other stipends, and a mandatory savings program. On April 22, the KRG said there were ongoing negotiations with the federal government to secure allocations to pay the salaries of its employees. The KRG cited low oil prices, anti-COVID-19 measures, and the federal government’s delay in sending payments as the reasons for its cash shortage. The Iraqi government reportedly decided to withhold future payments to the KRG because the latter has not met its obligation to contribute 250,000 bpd of oil to national exports. 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.