Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Note: New content has been inserted in red, italicized, bold font.
Overview
Political: Australia will formally end its military mission in Iraq by July 31, the Australian armed forces chief said on Monday (May-11). Operation Catalyst, as the Iraq mission is code named, will come to an end as the country prepares to deploy more troops to Afghanistan. Already, combat troops have been withdrawn, but several dozen Australian soldiers remain at coalition headquarters in non-front line roles. Some 100 will stay in Iraq protecting Australian diplomats, while two others will remain assigned to a UN assistance mission there, Chief Marshal Angus Houston said in a statement. Throughout their mission, Australian troops have provided key support to security and stabilization operations and have been responsible for the training of approximately 33,000 Iraqi Army soldiers. (AP, May-11)
A US$96.7 billion bill was passed on Thursday (May-7) by the US House Appropriations Committee to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to boosting aid to the struggling Pakistani government. The measure will fund war costs through September 30, with US$44.8 billion going towards operations and maintaining US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Reuters, May-7)
UN: According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday (May-5), the UN announced it had changed its guidelines for asylum seekers since the security situation in central and southern Iraq has improved. The UN refugee agency said instead of recommending the automatic granting of refugee status for people from central and southern Iraq, those asylum seekers will be individually assessed. Also, the UN said that if a country was overwhelmed by the refugee influx and was unable to conduct individual checks, it should grant asylum seekers the benefit of the doubt and grant them safety. (DPA, May-5)
Refugees/Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): Due to persistent violence, very few IDPs have returned as displaced Iraqis remain wary of renewed sectarian violence. Since the end of 2008, only 195,000 IDPs have returned to their homes, the UN reported. Officials hope the number will reach 400,000 by the end of the year if the security situation improves. Ahead of a full US troop withdrawal in 2012 and national polls set for later this year, many fear security will worsen as US combat troops withdraw out of Iraqi cities in June. (Reuters, May-12)
During a press conference on April 30, Iraqi Minister of Displacement and Migration Abdul-Samad Rahman Sultan said that improved security in most of Iraq has encouraged the return of about 65,000 displaced families since early 2008. This number includes 2,070 families returning from outside Iraq. However, budget cuts due to low oil prices may affect the ministry’s plans to help IDPs. Already, Sultan’s ministry budget for aid programs has been cut to US$44.8 million, from a request for 10 times this figure, and the ministry’s planned operational budget of about US$18 million is likely to be reduced by 40 percent. Sultan expects the budget cuts to create a number of problems in many fields. Iraq has the third largest number of IDPs in the world with 2.8 million. (IRIN, UNHCR, May-4)
Civil Society/Rule of Law: The number of deaths in Iraq since March 2003 is estimated by Iraq Body Count (IBC) as between 91,912 and 100,339 for civilians and 4,610 for coalition forces, including 4,292 US troops. While 4,900-6,375 Iraqi military personnel are estimated to have died during the 2003 war, reliable figures are unavailable for the new Iraqi security forces established in late 2003. (ReliefWeb, May-11)
A US soldier who opened fire and killed five fellow troops at a counseling center at Camp Liberty on Monday (May-11) was charged with five counts of murder on Tuesday (May-12). The incident occurred at a clinic that provides troops with help for personal issues or combat stress and raises concerns on whether there are sufficient mental health facilities in Iraq for troops. On Monday, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the incident highlighted the need to redouble efforts to deal effectively with combat stress and the risk of deploying soldiers multiple times. Monday’s tragedy, which is still being investigated, is the deadliest single incident involving US forces since April 10, when five soldiers were killed by a truck bomb in Mosul. (BBC, Reuters, May-12)
On the last day of April, two US Marines and a sailor were killed, making April the deadliest month for US service members this year. Eighteen US troops died in April and 16 of those troops died during combat. Also, April was the deadliest month for Iraqi civilians, as 290 lives were lost, compared to 185 in March, according to an Interior Ministry official. However, April’s civilian death toll was far lower than the 968 civilians killed in April last year. (CNN, Reuters, May-1)
Humanitarian Situation and Access: To support budget planning and the execution capabilities of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the UN Development Program in Iraq launched a three-year US$4.5 million project in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, on May 6. An essential part of the new project is the implementation of the Action Plan for Regional Public Finance Management aimed to strengthen the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the regional ministries’ budget execution and enhance the delivery of public services in the northern governorates. (UNDP, May-7)
In Baghdad’s Chikook suburb, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a clean-up campaign to improve the conditions in which displaced Iraqis and some 9,000 locals were living. The first phase of the operation, in which the UNHCR hired a cleaning company that used tractors, carts and spade-wielding laborers to remove tons of garbage and pumps and pipes to clear the sewage, began on April 20 and ended on Sunday (April-26). The second phase of the project started this week and a local NGO funded by UNHCR will carry out regular clean-ups with the help of the local community. In addition, the NGO has begun awareness classes in a primary school to stress to children the importance of hygiene and safe waste disposal. (UNHCR, April-29)
Economy/Oil: Iraqi crude oil production averaged 2.41 million barrels per day (MBPD) as of May 6, which is an increase of 0.04 from the previous week. (USDOS, May-6) Iraqi crude oil exports averaged 2.06 MBPD as of May 6, which is an increase of 0.27 from the previous week. (USDOS, May-6)
During a ceremony on April 30, the Iraqi Navy assumed control of the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT) from coalition forces that have maintained a presence on KAAOT since April 2004. Coalition forces have assisted the Iraqi Navy with security for their oil platforms, in addition to operating jointly with Iraqi sailors and marines. However, US and British forces will continue to provide the Iraqi Navy with training and assistance in support of future security transfers. (USDOS, May-6)
In the past two days, Baghdad municipality has been forced to shut down three water treatment plants due to an oil pipeline in northern Iraq bursting, spewing gallons of crude into the Tigris River. On April 28, the pipeline sprang a leak and spilled crude into the Tigris for a whole day. The leak was repaired on Thursday (April-30), but left an oil slick spanning 2.5 miles (4 km) that has traveled over 62 miles (100 km) down the Tigris, reaching Baghdad on Monday (May-4). A major water treatment plant supplying the western side of Baghdad was shut off to avoid contamination of drinking water. (Reuters, May-5)
Water/Power: The daily supply from the grid from April 29 – May 5 was 37 percent higher than the same time frame in 2008 and met 68 percent of estimated demand, compared with 52 percent during the same time frame a year earlier. (USDOS, May-6)
On Tuesday (May 12), Iraq’s parliament voted to compel the government to demand more water resources from neighbors in any bilateral deals. Iraqi lawmakers have agreed to deny any treaty or agreement signed with Turkey, Iran and Syria that does not include a clause granting Iraq a fairer share of resources. Turkey and Syria are accused of choking the Tigris and Euphrates by placing hydroelectric dams on them, restricting water flow. Relations with Turkey in the past year have improved as Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul visited in March. (Reuters, May-12)
Plummeting oil prices have forced the Iraqi government to make two cuts to the 2009 budget from an initial amount of US$80 billion to about US$62 billion. The most recent cuts approved by the Iraqi parliament are significantly affecting projects to improve water supplies and conserve consumption in the country. According to Radio Free Iraq (RFI), Water Resources Minister Abdullatif Rashid said that some 120,000 km of canals throughout Iraq need to be cleared using more than 200 dredgers, in addition to being lined with concrete. However, budget cuts have delayed this work. Despite the setback, Iraq received support by world leaders at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, in mid-March, after demanding more water from its neighbors. Turkey, Iran and Syria promised to allocate more water to Iraq. (RFI, April-2)
Food: NGOs have begun distributing extra food to struggling Iraqi families in Syria. Currently there are 8,334 Iraqi refugees registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Hassake Governorate, with 4,974 of them receiving food aid from UNHCR. The distribution targets 350 of the most vulnerable refugee families and provides them with food boxes worth US$25 each. A drought has spurred inflation, leaving even Syrian families in Hassake struggling. To meet shortfalls, an additional food distribution was launched in early April by the US-based NGO A Plate For All to aid refugees in Hassake. (IRIN, May-11)
The Government of Iraq has donated US$40 million to aid in the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) efforts to provide food for the some 750,000 Iraqi IDPs, the WFP reported on January 15. The funding has been used to purchase wheat flour, oil and beans to distribute to vulnerable IDPs in Iraq’s 18 governorates. (USDOS, January-22)
Health/Medical: No cases of the H1N1 flu outbreak, commonly known as swine flu, have been reported in the Middle East, though the region has been adopting various preventative measures. Iraqi authorities have set aside US$30 million to combat a possible outbreak, while medical checks for all visitors at airports and border crossings have been increased. Nationwide, workshops and courses are being conducted for relevant ministry employees on how to monitor and report the disease. The northern Kurdistan region has warned people not to travel to South America, Mexico or the US. Additionally, there has been a nationwide ban on hunting wild pigs, while the Iraqi government ordered three wild boars in the Baghdad Zoo to be culled on Saturday (May-2) as a precautionary measure. (Reuters, May-6)
During the first 14 weeks of 2009, no cholera cases have been reported. However, since cholera is endemic in Iraq, sporadic cases are expected to surface from time to time. Iraq suffered a cholera outbreak in 2008 with a majority of cases occurring between weeks 33 to 41, the UN Children’s Fund Humanitarian Action Update reported. A total of 11 deaths were recorded among a total of 925 cholera cases, of which 36 percent were children under the age of five. According to updated reports, the outbreak seemed to have subsided after the gradual decrease in new cases had abated to zero by mid-December. Despite cholera cases not being detected, diarrhea cases continue to affect Iraqi populations. During week 14 in 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 11,723 cases of diarrhea. Sixty percent of the samples - or 6,992 - were cultured for the cholera organism, but none were found positive. The agency also tested 2,574 water samples for bacteriological contamination and 28 percent - or 715 - of them were deemed contaminated. (WHO, April-5)
In-Country Humanitarian Assistance Information by Region
North Region
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Erbil, Dahuk, Sulaymaniyah |
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Coordination |
US forces handed responsibility for security in Iraq’s three northern provinces of Erbil, Dahuk and Sulaymaniyah to the Kurdish regional government in May of 2007. |
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Population |
Population of Erbil: 1,392,093 Population of Sulaymaniyah: 1,715,585 Population of Dahuk: 954,087 |
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IDP Movement |
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by province/governorate
(IASC, Kurdistan Regional Government, June 2008)
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Food |
No New Information |
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Health |
No New Information |
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Non-Food Items –Shelter |
In Dahuk province, the Gulf Region Division, US Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq developed a new 12-room US$1.1 million Shindokha School, and 600 middle and high school students will benefit from this bigger and better school. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was performed to mark the opening of the new school that will significantly reduce an overcrowding problem. The school’s entire curriculum is taught in English, and prospective teachers will undergo four months of intensive language training. (AFPS, Mar-30) |
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Water & Sanitation |
No New Information |
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Security |
No New Information |
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Other/Comments |
No New Information |
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At Tamim, Ninawa, Salah ad Din |
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Coordination |
Five NGOs closed their offices in Mosul (in Ninawa) because of increased violence against aid workers: Mosul Human Rights Association, Supporting Children With Cancer, Ruweida Aid Agency, and two preferring to remain unnamed. The past six months have especially affected relief agencies’ work, according to the Association for NGOs in Northern Iraq. Armed groups pose the largest threat to aid agencies. But an Iraqi Voices of Freedom volunteer said another problem is aid workers being detained by police after returning from displacement areas with suspected insurgents. (IRIN, Sept-24) |
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Population |
Population of Mosul: 2,811,091 Population of Kirkuk: 902,019 Population of Tikrit: 1,191,403 |
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IDP Movement |
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by Province/Governorate
(IASC, Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration, June 2008) Of 10,337 displaced families surveyed in At Tamim, Salah ad Din and Diyala provinces, over 92 percent said they had not received any humanitarian aid. (Mercy Corps, Oct-31)
Returns are increasing and displacement is low three years after the bombing of a revered Shia shrine in Samarra that sparked nationwide sectarian violence, causing major displacement. Since February 2006, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 1.6 million Iraqis (about 270,000 families) have been displaced and out of those, at least 49,000 families (almost 300,000 individuals) have returned home. IDPs still face the hardships of a lack of jobs, food shortages, unemployment and a lack of basic services. However, Rafiq Tschannen, chief of mission in Iraq for the IOM, said “the fact that people are returning home, although in smaller than expected numbers, is a positive development which we hope will gather pace.” (IRIN, Feb-22) |
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Food |
No New Information |
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Health |
No New Information |
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Non-Food Items –Shelter |
In Salah ad Din province, the As Sharqat Bridge was opened and is expected to greatly improve travel times in the area, in addition to increasing freedom of movement in the north. The Iraqi Army, police and the Sons of Iraq (SOI) will be coordinating security and traffic. (USDOS, Apr-29) |
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Water & Sanitation |
In a combined multi-agency effort by the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Kirkuk, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Kirkuk provincial government and the US Agency for International Development, the first environmentally engineered and constructed landfill was built in Kirkuk recently. It is the first of its kind in the country and was made as a way to properly dispose of waste and refuse. The landfill meets US and European standards and will teach the Iraqis proper waste management techniques, providing additional jobs to local residents. (USDOS, Mar-11) |
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Security |
In At-Tamim province, near a mosque in southern Kirkuk, 155 miles (250 km) north of Baghdad, two people were killed and eight were wounded when a bomb exploded on Monday (May-11). Five policemen were killed and 15 bystanders were wounded when a suicide bomber drove his truck packed with explosives into an Iraqi police vehicle in Kirkuk on Tuesday (May-12). Three Iraqi policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb targeting their patrol exploded in southern Kirkuk on Wednesday (May-13).
In Ninawa province on Thursday (May-7): a suicide car bomber targeting a police patrol wounded three policemen and one civilian in eastern Mosul, 240 miles (390 km) north of Baghdad. After US and Iraqi forces came under grenade attack on Thursday in western Mosul, US forces responded by firing at several people, killing a 12-year-old Iraqi boy suspected of throwing the grenade. They believe insurgents paid him to help them. On Saturday (May-9): an off-duty policeman was shot and killed and three civilians were wounded when gunmen attacked them at a market in central Mosul. In eastern Mosul, a roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol exploded, wounding one civilian. On Sunday (May-10): one policeman was wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in northern Mosul. In western Mosul, another roadside bomb targeting a US patrol wounded one civilian. On Monday: police discovered the body of a five-year-old boy from a Christian family who had been kidnapped 10 days ago in northern Mosul. Nearby, gunmen shot and killed an off-duty policeman and wounded another at a market. A former Iraqi Army brigadier general was shot and killed in northeastern Mosul. On Tuesday: gunmen killed a soldier at an Iraqi army checkpoint in western Mosul. On Wednesday: a civilian was wounded when a mortar landed near his home in central Mosul. In eastern Mosul, a parked car bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded five people, including one soldier.
(Reuters, May 7-13) |
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Other/Comments |
The University of Tikrit in Salah ad Din province recently signed an agreement with the library at the University of Michigan that would permit an exchange program between the two academic institutions. While Michigan donates much needed books to Tikrit’s library and provides librarian training, Tikrit will assist Michigan with management and coordination of Iraqi documents. (USDOS, Apr-15) |
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Central/West Regions
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Anbar, Diyala, Karbala, Babil, Wasit, Najaf, Qadissiya |
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Coordination |
As a step to operating independently of Coalition Forces under the US-Iraqi Security Agreement, in February, the Multi-National Force-West (MNF-W) transferred responsibility of two observation posts and a patrol base in Anbar province to Iraqi security forces. The MNF-W also closed two other observation posts and a patrol base. (USDOS, Mar-4) |
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Population |
Population of Anbar: 1,485,985 Population of Diyala: 1,560,621 Population of Karbala: 887,858 Population of Babil: 1,651,565 Population of Wasit: 1,064,950 Population of Najaf: 1,081,203 Population of Qadissiya: 990,483 |
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IDP Movement |
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by Province/Governorate
(IASC, Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration, IOM, June 2008) |
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Food |
No New Information |
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Health |
In Babil province, an anti-cholera initiative has been implemented to prevent future outbreaks of the disease that affected the area significantly in 2008. Already 13 out of 14 new water tanks have been installed. Also, several solar- powered water purification units were bought as well as water tanker trucks in order to transport clean water to remote villages. (USDOS, Apr-8) |
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Non-Food Items –Shelter |
Iraqi agricultural specialists from Anbar province recently returned from a trip to California where they visited California State University at Fresno to learn new irrigation techniques, high saline soil farming and integration with the dairy industry. While there, a memorandum of understanding was established with Fresno and Anbar University to build a working relationship between the two educational centers. (USDOS, Apr-29) |
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Water & Sanitation |
On March 4, local residents, contractors, Iraqi police and US soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division’s 8th Infantry Regiment and the 110th Military Police Company gathered in the city of Diwaniya for the opening ceremony of the new police headquarters in Qada district. Iraqi contractors and workers built the facility with coordination through the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Iraqi government. Army 1st Lt. David Faulkner says the central location provides the station with better command, control and coordination of the collective police force in the district. (American Forces Press Service, Mar-11) |
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Security |
In Anbar province, two Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others were wounded when a roadside bomb targeting an army patrol exploded in Ramadi, 60 miles (100 km) west of Baghdad, on Wednesday (May-13). In Diyala province, 14 suspected insurgents were detained and weapons caches were found during a US and Iraqi joint operation in the four days leading up to Friday (May-8). In Babil province, three people were wounded in Mussayab, 40 miles (60 km) south of Baghdad, after a roadside bomb targeting a government-backed guard unit exploded on Thursday (May-7). (Reuters, May 7-13) |
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Other/Comments |
A commercial flight from Kuwait to Najaf and Baghdad departed from Kuwait International Airport on April 6, making it the first Kuwaiti commercial flight in 19 years to arrive in these cities. Previously, the Griffin Air flight was used solely for military purposes. Frequency of flights between the cities is expected to increase from twice a week to daily. Travel to Najaf is on high demand, particularly for religious holidays. (USDOS, Apr-15) |
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Baghdad
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Baghdad |
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Coordination |
No New Information |
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Population |
Population: 7,145,470 |
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IDP Movement |
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by Province/Governorate
(IASC, Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), June 2008)
At the end of 2007, Iraq’s MoDM reported that 9,657 IDP families (some 60,000 people) had returned to Baghdad. The Iraqi Red Crescent stated 46,000 refugees had returned from Syria to Baghdad by the end of December. (IOM, Feb-1) |
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Food |
No New Information |
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Health |
No New Information |
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Non-Food Items –Shelter |
No New Information |
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Security |
On Thursday (May-7), US forces detained a person in Baghdad believed to be connected with the downing of a helicopter in 2007 and an active member of al-Qaeda.
On Saturday (May-9), senior member of the Awakening Council, Abed al-Khairiya, was killed by a roadside bomb in Taji, 12 miles (20 km) north of Baghdad.
On Sunday (May-10), a bomb attack near al-Hurriya Square in central Baghdad, narrowly missed Maj.-Gen. Jaafar al-Khefaji, the chief of the Iraqi traffic police, while three civilians were wounded in the blast.
On Monday (May-11), a US soldier opened fire at fellow soldiers at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, killing five. Gunmen shot and killed Brig.-Gen. Abd al-Hussein al-Kadhimi, head of the Iraqi police vehicles department, near his home in central Baghdad.
On Tuesday (May-12), the Iraqi army set free a doctor and his daughter and arrested three kidnappers in Ghazaliya district in western Baghdad.
On Wednesday (May-13), gunmen used silenced guns to kill a government employee at Iraq’s Integrity Commission, the government anti-corruption office, in northern Baghdad’s Shaab district. Abu Ahmed al-Zobaie, an anti al-Qaeda militia leader, and his son were killed in a public marketplace in Abu Ghraib when a bomb fixed under his car exploded.
(Reuters, May 7-13) |
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Water & Sanitation |
After three and a half years, US and Iraqi officials opened a water treatment plant in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum on Wednesday (January-21). The US$65 million plant provides water for 200,000 people, which is only a tenth of the population of the vast slum on Baghdad’s eastern outskirts. (Reuters, Jan-21) |
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Other/Comments |
No New Information |
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South Region
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Basrah |
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Coordination |
British forces officially began withdrawing troops from Iraq’s southern province of Basrah on Tuesday (Mar-31), a move that will be a months-long process ending a role that commenced with the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Last year, Baghdad and London signed a deal agreeing that the last 4,100 British soldiers would leave the country by July 31. About 400 British troops will remain in the country as a residual force to train Iraqi security forces. (BBC, Reuters, Mar-31) |
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Population |
Population of Basrah: 1,912,533 |
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IDP Movement |
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by Province/Governorate
(IASC, Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration, June 2008)
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Food |
No New Information |
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Health |
No New Information |
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Non-Food Items –Shelter |
An unnamed Iranian firm has been contracted by the Basrah Investment Commission to redevelop parts of Basrah. The US$1.5 billion contract includes the construction of 5,000 new housing units in addition to schools, hospitals, parks, a supermarket and commercial units for up to 2,000 shops. This contract is the largest construction contract given to an Iranian firm since 2003. (USDOS, Feb-25) |
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Water & Sanitation |
The Sadr Teaching Hospital in Basrah had been discharging its raw sewage straight into the Shatt al-Arab River for more than 15 years, but with the assistance of Iraqi officials and coalition forces, a new wastewater treatment plant has officially opened. On April 2, the director of the hospital unveiled the new US$1.9 million wastewater treatment plant that holds 487 beds where about 500 patients are treated daily. According to Taha Mohammed al-Qurashi, chief of Basrah Environmental Directorate, the new treatment facility uses modern technology and is an important step toward a cleaner, healthier community. The US Army Corps of Engineers has finished more than 4,500 projects valued at nearly US$7 billion since 2004. (Govt USA, Apr-9)
A US$750,000 rehabilitation project of southern Basrah’s city’s rainwater, drainage and sewage networks has been completed after only six months. Ali Hanon, an official from Basrah’s reconstruction unit, announced the news, highlighting its funding as part of the 2008 provincial development projects program. (USDOS, Apr-8) |
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Security |
Gunmen shot and killed an off-duty, high-ranking police officer in a shop in the town of Zubair, located some 290 miles (470 km) southeast of Baghdad, on Saturday (May-9).
A roadside bomb attack in southern Basrah province killed a US soldier on Monday (May-11). |
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Other/Comments |
On December-9, Iraq’s independent electoral commission announced that it plans to collect signatures in support of a referendum to transform the province of Basrah into an autonomous region much like Kurdistan in the north of the country. (Reuters, Dec-9) |
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Muthanna, Dhi Qar, Maysan |
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Coordination |
No New Information |
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Population |
Population of Muthanna: 614,997 Population of Dhi Qar: 1,616,226 Population of Maysan (Missan): 824,147 |
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IDP Movement |
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by Province/Governorate
(IASC, Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration, June 2008)
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Food |
No New Information |
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Health |
Hosted by the Muthanna Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in cooperation with the 2-12 Cavalry Battalion and paired Iraqi and Coalition doctors, the fourth Community Medical Outreach event was held in the city of Warka. The event was created to increase diagnostic and treatment capacity. In an area lacking healthcare services, 348 patients were treated. Also, the 4-1 Cavalry Brigade donated new wheelchairs to 47 disabled residents. (USDOS, May-6) |
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Non-Food Items –Shelter |
No New Information |
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Water & Sanitation |
No New Information |
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Security |
No New Information |
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Other/Comments |
On April 1, around 500 Iraqis from Dhi Qar and Maysan attended the Jazz Masters concert at the Ziggurat of Ur. The show became a family event with women, who seldom join their spouses on such occasions in this part of Iraq. (USDOS, Apr-15) |
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Neighboring Countries’ Humanitarian Activities/Preparations
Jordan
According to Xinhua news agency, a UN official revealed in 2008, nearly 20,000 displaced Iraqis in Jordan have resettled to third countries. A majority of them, around 6,990, were sent to the US, Imran Riza, representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Jordan said, adding that 2009 should expect a greater number of relocations. (Xinhua new agency, December-24)
Iran
On April 23, Iran’s official news agency, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Iran and Iraq have agreed to build a pipeline that will feed Iraqi crude oil to an Iranian refinery, in addition to establishing five new oil refineries together. The 32-inch pipeline will carry 50 percent of the crude from Iraq’s southern oil hub in Basrah to be processed at Iran’s Abadan refinery, which has a capacity of 430,000 barrels per day. No timeframe has been set for this project. (AP, April-23)
Turkey
On Thursday (April 30), Turkey’s military said it had launched air strikes against suspected Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq. The operation was prompted after nine Turkish soldiers were killed by a bomb in southeastern Turkey on April 29. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reuters, April-30)
Kuwait
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Shiekh Muhammad al-Sabah met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and other top officials on Thursday (February-26) in the first high-level visit by a Kuwaiti official since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In addition to discussing joint oil fields, maritime borders and war reparations, Shiekh Muhammad praised the Iraqi government for holding peaceful provincial elections. The visit recognized the growing acceptance of Baghdad’s Shi’ite Muslim-led government by Sunni-dominated Gulf Arab states. (Reuters, BBC, February-26)
Syria
Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari visited Iraq on April 21 to hold discussions with Iraqi officials regarding the request for the Syrian government to crack down on former Iraqi army commanders plotting against the government and on reopening an oil pipeline. Otari’s visit is also a sign of warming ties between nations whose relations have been unfriendly since Saddam’s takeover in 1979. (Reuters, April-21)
Saudi Arabia
On September-21, Saudi Arabia returned 16 Iraqi prisoners to Iraq and received eight Saudis in return ahead of a new agreement on swapping convicted criminals, the Saudi media said. According to Reuters, this move is the latest step by Saudi Arabia and Iraq to gradually rebuild ties after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq brought leaders from the majority Shi’ite Muslim community to power. Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security adviser said earlier in the month that Saudi Arabia would repatriate all 434 Iraqis in Saudi jails under a new agreement. Saudi Arabia has yet to name an ambassador to Baghdad after announcing last year that it would send one. (Reuters, September-21)