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W E E K L Y D I G E S T 3 A U G U S T – 9 A U G U S T I R A Q

Politics

Iraqi Politicians Continue to Comment on West Asian Games Controversy Following last week’s controversy surrounding the West Asian games held in the city of , the leader of Friday prayers in , Sayed Sadr al-Deen al-Qubanchi, called for the Minister of Youth and Sports to be dismissed for “violating the sanctity of the holy city of Karbala”. This is not the first time that the Minister of Youth and Sports, Ahmed Riyadh Talib, has been at the centre of controversy. Given his unpopularity amongst many political factions, it may be likely that parties use this as a pretext to force him to resign from his position. Commenting on the controversy that arose regarding the ceremony violating the “sanctity law”, due to female dancers not being covered, Muqtada al-Sadr admitted that he does not see the musical performance as violating the holiness of the city, although he added that the female figures should have dressed according to local cultural “customs”.

PMU Conducts Operation That Leads to Capture of “Kingpin” Hamza al-Shammari The PMU’s Security Division announced details regarding an operation that they conducted last week, which led to the capture of the drug “kingpin”, Hamza al-Shammari, and 25 other accomplices in the Meridian Hotel in . The statement labelled al-Shammari as the biggest drug dealer in the country, adding that he ran several illicit night clubs, gambling rooms and was involved in a prostitution and human trafficking ring. According to Hakim al-Zameli, a member of the Sadrist movement, the Iraqi Government has not previously taken action against al-Shammari because of bribery and blackmail, adding that his cartel is being backed by some politicians, militias and foreign entities, which has allowed it to grow and spread. The revelation of this story has prompted several members of parliament (MPs) to call on parliament to draft a bill that revokes all gambling licenses in the country once parliament goes back into session.

Government Evaluation Committee Lambasts PM for Exaggerated Achievements On Thursday (8th August), the Government Evaluation Committee in the Iraqi Parliament stated that it believes that Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi’s “Government Achievements” report is largely exaggerated and does not correspond with reality. According to a report issued by the Prime Minister earlier this year, his Government was able to achieve 79% of the programs that they had set; however, the evaluation committee stated that only 39% of the Government’s plans were implemented. According to the statement, the committee will present these findings in detail to the Parliament once the session resumes, and will seek to bring the Prime Minister in front of

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Parliament for questioning. The report lambasting Adil Abd al-Mahdi’s Government is expected given the increasing number of MPs criticising the PM for failing to address pressing issues. In the past two months, several parties have stated that they will be forming an opposition movement within Parliament as a result of their discontent with the Abd al-Mahdi’s Government. This, in addition to increasing public dissatisfaction, puts Adil Abd al-Mahdi’s Government in a risky position unless the Prime Minister can provide reasonable evidence for the lack of substantial improvement.

Dhi Qar Provincial Council Seeks to Elect New Governor The Dhi Qar Provincial Council said on Monday (5th August) that it will open up candidacy for the position of governor until next Thursday in light of a lack of agreement among council members. By Tuesday (6th August) a group of protesters took to the streets of Dhi Qar Province calling for an independent Provincial Governor. The protesters demanded that a new and independent governor be nominated for the position after the former Governor was sacked for corruption charges last week. By Friday (9th August) an agreement had been reached to assign the governorship to Adil al- Dukhaili.

Iraq Hands Remains of 48 Prisoners of War to Kuwaiti Government handed the remains of 48 Kuwaiti prisoners of war (POWs) who had disappeared in Iraq following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of the neighbouring country in 1990. According to the Kuwaiti director of prisoner affairs in the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rabee’ al-Ajsani, Kuwait has received the remains of 236 individuals, out of the estimated 602 POWs that were taken by the previous regime. This is the first transfer between Iraq and Kuwait since 2005, when the Iraqi Government last discovered the remains of Kuwaiti POWs.

Al-Qaim Border Crossing Set to Reopen Early Next Month Iraq’s al-Qa’im border crossing with Syria in western Anbar Province is due to reopen on 1st September, according to the Anbar Provincial Council. Cross-border operations against remnant IS cells have been ongoing between the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). By Wednesday (August 7th) the Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Peoples announced the return over 285 internally displaced peoples (IDPs) back to their homes in al-Qaim District after thorough security clearances were conducted by the Iraqi Government.

Security

15 Drug Dealers Escape from al-Qanat Prison in Baghdad On Saturday (3rd August) 15 drug dealers escaped the al-Qanat Prison in Baghdad. By Thursday (8th August) the spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, Saad Maan, announced that the Iraqi forces had arrested the ringleader responsible for the prison break. Since the escape of 15 drug dealers, the ISF have arrested over half of the convicts, while search missions are going for the remaining escapees. During the same interview, Maan also noted that the Internal Security Forces Court issued a statement, which called for the sacking of five officers and three members of the police force for their incompetence, which led to the prisoners’ escape.

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Iraqi Government Reaches Agreement with 30th PMU Brigade in Nineveh Province On Monday, protesters in Nineveh blocked the - highway protesting the Prime Minister’s decision to withdraw the PMU’s 30th Brigade from the Nineveh Plains. This prompted Baghdad to send a delegation on Tuesday morning to meet with the Governor of Nineveh Province to resolve this crisis. Following the meeting, the delegation stated in a press conference that they decided to form joint administration checkpoints in Nineveh Province that include members of the PMU’s 30th Brigade. This prompted the protesters to announce that they will reopen the Erbil- Mosul Highway since their demands were met.

ISF Launch Third Phase of Operation Will of Victory The third phase of the anti-IS Operation ‘Will of Victory’ started early on Monday morning. The Operation, which began on 7th July, is aimed at eliminating IS sleeper cells in Nineveh, Anbar and Salahuddin Provinces, as well as other remote parts of Diyala Province. The third part of the Operation is focusing on areas north of al-Miqdadiyah, specifically around Jalawla and , in Diyala Province, where sporadic IS attacks were reported. On Thursday, the ISF and the PMU announced that the forces had made several significant developments in their latest advance on Diyala Province, which cleared the farms near Shiekh Baba near Jalawla.

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