Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Note: New content has been inserted in red, italicized, bold font.
Overview
Political: After the scheduled withdrawal of US troops from major cities in Iraq by June 30, the US and Iraqi militaries have tentatively decided to maintain an American presence in Baghdad’s Shi’ite slum of Sadr City. The Associated Press reported that the base in Sadr City, the Joint Security Station Commanche, is one of about 14 joint facilities that the US said it would want to keep even after the deadline has passed. That particular base is a strategic area because it controls the regions where Shi’ite militants poured rocket fire onto the Green Zone during the last major fighting in the city in 2008 and could be where militants are trying to regroup. However, the measure needs to be approved by the Iraqi government, which may be difficult as it is under pressure to show the people that the US is abiding by the withdrawal schedule set in the bilateral security pact. (AP, June-3)
Under the security pact between Iraq and the US, the US army said on Wednesday (June-10) that the 11,000 prisoners being held in Iraq would either be freed or transferred to Iraqi authorities. Three prisons – Camp Cropper and Camp Taji in Baghdad, and Camp Bucca in southern Iraq – run by US forces, are holding the 11,057 people. According to the Agence France-Presse, once the detainee population decreases below 8,000, the theater internment facility at Camp Bucca will shut down and the remaining detainees will go to Camp Cropper and Taji. Prisoners considered less of a threat are being freed or transferred to Iraqi authorities at a rate of around 50 a day. In March, when there were about 13,000 detainees, about half of them were considered dangerous. (AFP, June-10)
UN: UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon reported to the UN Security Council that the Iraqi government indicated it was prepared to assume security responsibility from US-led forces on Monday (June-8). Despite concerns that the US was going to extend its withdrawal date due to the surge of bombings over the last eight weeks, a government spokesman announced that the pullout would occur as scheduled. However, militant groups continue to pose a threat as they are eager to provoke sectarian violence and undermine public confidence in the government’s ability to provide security, Ban reported. In addition, Ban’s latest report to the Security Council discussed the priority of national reconciliation and the continued progress on political, social and security fronts. (Reuters, IWPR, June-9)
Refugees/Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Iraq remains too fragile for the estimated 1.5 million Iraqis living outside its borders to return home. Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the UNHCR, said “while overall security conditions are improving, they are not sustainable enough to have encouraged massive returns of Iraqis.” Of the returns that have already taken place, many of them have not been safe or sustainable. Forcing the repatriation of refugees would also put individuals at risk. Over 1.5 million Iraqis still live outside the country, mostly in Syria and Jordan, while another 2 million are internally displaced. (UNHCR, June-2)
Civil Society/Rule of Law: The number of deaths in Iraq since March 2003 is estimated by Iraq Body Count (IBC) as between 92,311 and 100,786 for civilians and 4,629 for coalition forces, including 4,311 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. (iCasualties, June-10)
An Iraqi spokesman said on Sunday (June-7) that five US security contractors in connection with killing a fellow American contractor last month in Baghdad’s Green Zone were arrested during a pre-dawn raid on their company’s office on Friday (June-5). James Kitterman, a 60-year-old Texan contractor who owned a construction company that operated in Iraq, was found blindfolded and stabbed to death last month. The raid was ordered after Iraqi security forces received a tip that a suspect involved in the murder might be at the Corporate Training Unlimited house in the Green Zone. If the five are charged, they would be the first Americans to be tried in Iraqi courts under a new joint security pact that was implemented in January. Private contractors, who were previously immune to prosecution in Iraq, would now be wholly bound by Iraqi law. According to the Associated Press, an Iraqi government spokesman said only four Americans, not five, have been detained for the murder last month. (AP, BBC, Reuters, June 7-8) On Wednesday (June-10), Reuters reported that one of the five US contractors arrested last Friday was released by Iraqi police. (Reuters, June-10)
Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the civilian casualty count dramatically decreased in May to its lowest number, according to Iraq’s Health Ministry figures that were released on Sunday (May-31). May’s death toll was 134, which is slightly below the previously record low tallied in January. (Reuters, May-31) However, the month of May also saw the number of US military deaths sharply increase. With 24 US soldiers killed, bringing the overall death toll to at least 4,306 since March 2003, May had the most deaths of any month since September 2008, the BBC reported. (BBC, June-1)
Humanitarian Situation and Access: Iraqi Environment Minister Narmin Othman reported that there are some 25 million landmines in Iraq and more than 25 million unexploded ordnance (UXO), including cluster bombs, saying it is “Iraq’s biggest environmental problem.” According to the UN’s Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Othman has appealed for more international support to clear landmines and UXO in Iraq. Because the government is not dependable, international support is imperative to get qualified specialists and financial support, Othman told IRIN on Saturday (June-6). Not knowing how much support was needed, Othman said “billions of dollars” were needed. Currently, three companies are working with the ministry in mine clearance operations, while 17 others are expected to have their licenses within days. Under the 2007 Ottawa Convention, which bans all landmines, Iraq must be declared free of landmines by 2018. (IRIN, June-8)
Despite Iraq’s improving security situation, the country remains in a fragile transition stage with at least 1.6 million Iraqis displaced inside the country, while hundreds of thousands are living in difficult conditions in neighboring countries. Recognizing the country’s humanitarian need, the European Commission has allocated US$27 million (20 million Euros) to address the needs of refugees, internally displaced people and other vulnerable populations affected by the conflict in Iraq, and to support coordination of the humanitarian response. The funding will provide food, water and sanitation, basic healthcare, psychosocial support and help for people on the move or returning home. (ECHO, May-15)
Economy/Oil: Iraqi crude oil production averaged 2.41 million barrels per day (MBPD) as of May 27, which is a decrease of 0.01 from the previous week. (USDOS, May-27) Iraqi crude oil exports averaged 1.88 MBPD as of May 27, which is a decrease of 0.05 from the previous week. (USDOS, May-27)
BBC news reported on Monday (June-1) that Iraq’s self-ruled Kurdish region had begun, for the first time, exporting crude oil to foreign markets. The Kurdistan Regional Government will pump up to 90,000-100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to selected companies from two northern oilfields to Turkey. From Iraq’s northern Taq Taq field, oil will be transported by lorry to Erbil province at a rate of 40,000 bpd and then pumped along to the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The decision by the Iraqi government to allow its pipeline to be used comes after a deal that could start to mend internal disputes over Iraq oil wealth. The Kurds, Baghdad and oil companies will share the revenue. At a ceremony held in Erbil, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani was quoted as saying, “We are proud of this success, and this achievement will serve the interests of all Iraqis, especially the Kurds.” (BBC, June-1)
Water/Power: The daily supply from the grid from May 17 – May 23 was 47 percent higher than the same time frame in 2008 and met 67 percent of estimated demand, compared with 50 percent during the same time frame a year earlier. (USDOS, May-27)
Last month, Turkish authorities told a top Iraqi lawmaker they had increased the flow of the Euphrates River through its dams upstream of Iraq to help farmers battling a severe drought, but according to Iraqi Water Resources Minister Abdul Latif Rasheed, nothing has been done. On Sunday (June-7), Iraq called on Turkey again to release more water down the river. Water distribution is a fragile diplomatic issue for Iraq as it tries to better ties with its neighbors and Turkey is one of its most important trading partners. Iraq has accused Turkey, and to a lesser extent Syria, of choking the Euphrates by placing hydroelectric dams on it that have restricted water flow to Iraq, which damages the farm sector already coping with decades of war and neglect. (Reuters, June-7)
Food: On Thursday and Friday (May 16-17), Iraqi Trade Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudani appeared before parliament to acknowledge there had been some cases of corruption in his ministry and admitted, “some food items were bad.” His brother and another official were arrested, while seven other officials remain at large. According to a new survey by the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation of 120,000 families, which had qualified for state food handouts in 15 Iraqi provinces, 18 percent of families did not receive their nine-item food ration for 13 months; 31.5 percent for 7-12 months; 14.5 percent for 4-6 months; 22 percent for 2-3 months and 14.5 percent for one month. In addition, the survey raised concerns about the quality of food items. Surveyed families revealed that items such as tea, rice, flour and sugar had been received in bad quality. Sheikh Sabah al-Saidi, chairman of the parliament’s Integrity Committee said corruption in the Trade Ministry has been running high, mainly over imported food items unfit for human consumption. He added that billions of dollars have been wasted in the ministry. (IRIN, May-19)
Health/Medical: During the first 22 weeks of 2009, only two cholera cases have been confirmed. 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 22 in 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 18,339 cases of diarrhea. Sixty percent of the samples - or 10,999 - were cultured for the cholera organism, but none were found positive. The agency also tested 2,629 water samples for bacteriological contamination and 16 percent - or 430 - of them were deemed contaminated. (WHO, May-31)
According to the WHO, during the first 22 weeks of 2009, 26,056 suspected measles cases were reported in Iraq. The measles outbreak is mainly affecting the central part of Iraq, reporting 78 percent – or 20,330 – of the cases. The outbreak is beginning to spread to the South and North. (WHO, May-31)
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 |
Late on Saturday (June-6), Turkish military planes attacked Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. After Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) members were spotted on Iraqi soil near the Turkish border, the Turkish military deployed between four and six aircraft to shell PKK bases in northern Iraq. (Reuters, June-7) |
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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, a US soldier succumbed to his wounds suffered during a grenade attack on a patrol in northern Kirkuk province on Thursday (June-4). Two gunmen were killed as they were planting a roadside bomb in Hawija, 130 miles (210 km) north of Baghdad, on Wednesday (June-10).
In Ninawa province on Thursday: one Iraqi civilian was killed and five others were wounded when a suicide bomber targeting a US construction company convoy exploded in central Mosul, 240 miles (390 km) north of Baghdad. On Sunday (June-7), two policemen were killed during an ambush in Mosul. On Monday (June-8): two civilians were wounded by a suicide bomber targeting an army base in Mosul. On Tuesday (June-9), a roadside bomb wounded a woman and her daughter in northeastern Mosul.
(Reuters, June 4-10) |
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Other/Comments |
Ninawa province complied with a Ministry of Interior directive that requires all currently employed Iraqi Police to be formally trained by June 2009 after 1,000 Iraqi Police graduated from the Mosul Public Service Academy on May 11. All the officers were hired last year and will continue to serve at the police stations where they were previously posted. (USDOS, May-27) |
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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, a roadside bomb in Karmah (Garma), 12 miles (20 km) northeast of Falluja, killed three members of a state-backed Sunni Arab militia on Friday (June-5). A police captain was killed in Ramadi, 60 miles (100 km) west of Baghdad, after a bomb attached to a vehicle exploded on Saturday (June-6). Police chief Maj.-Gen. Tariq Yusuf and five others were wounded by a suicide car bomb attack on Saturday. Late on Sunday (June-7), a roadside bomb killed two policemen and wounded a third in Falluja, 32 miles (50 km) west of Baghdad. On Tuesday (June-9), a child was killed and five civilians were wounded when a bomb planted on a parked motorcycle exploded in Falluja. The same day in central Falluja, a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded two policemen. In Diyala province, an Iraqi soldier was killed during a grenade attack targeting an Iraqi army patrol on Thursday (June-4). During a raid in Buhriz, 35 miles (60 km) northeast of Baghdad, seven suspected members of al-Qaeda were detained on Wednesday (June-10). (Reuters, June 4-10) |
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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 |
Nine people were killed and 31 others were wounded when a bomb planted in a café exploded in a mostly Shi’ite district of southwestern Baghdad on June 3.
On Friday (June-5), two civilians were hurt after a roadside bomb exploded in central Baghdad.
On Monday (June-8), seven people were killed and 24 others were wounded when a bomb attached to a minibus exploded in Abu Dsheer, a Shi’ite Muslim neighborhood in southern Baghdad.
(Reuters, June 4-10) |
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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 |
No New Information |
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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 |
No New Information |
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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 |
On Wednesday (June-10), a car bomb tore through a crowded market in the Shi’ite Muslim town Al-Bathaa, 20 miles (30 km) west of Nassariya in Dhi Qar province. At least 33 people were killed and some 70 were wounded in the violent blasts. Nassariya is located 185 miles (300 km) southeast of Baghdad. (Reuters, June-10) |
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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
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari led an Iraqi delegation to Tehran on May 19 to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Manoucheher Mottaki, to discuss border issues, the water crisis and common security threats. He also met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who said ties were improving and urged quick implementation of bilateral agreements between the countries. Ahmadinejad added that the age of “bullying and arrogant powers” had come to an end. (USDOS, May-20)
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
Kurdish rebels and the Turkish military extended a unilateral ceasefire by six weeks to try to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict that has taken 40,000 lives since 1984. The Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) has been battling the Turkish government for independence for 25 years. The original ceasefire was declared on April 14 and was due to expire on Monday (June-1), however, the PKK may extend the truce even longer to September 1 if it believes the government is making progress on solving the political problem. (Reuters, June-1)
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
Despite strained political ties between neighbors Syria and Iraq, Syria started a freight train service to Iraq, Reuters reported official media as saying on Sunday (May-31). According to Syria’s al-Thawra newspaper, the line, which is 894 miles (1,430 km) long between the Syrian port of Tartous on the Mediterranean and Baghdad, was inaugurated on Saturday (May-30) and will begin services this month. The estimated journey time will be at least 72 hours, but will be half the cost of road transport. The neighboring country currently hosts hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees and had hoped to become a main transit hub to Iraq. Syria got to play that role for a short time following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. (Reuters, May-31)
Saudi Arabia
On Thursday (May-28), Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraq has no intention of making new goodwill gestures towards Saudi Arabia as Maliki’s efforts have been called a sign of weakness by Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Bilateral ties between the two countries have been strained since the US-led invasion in 2003 and continue to decline. Al-Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government accuses Riyadh of not taking enough action to prevent its citizens from crossing the border to join the mainly Sunni insurgency. The Agence France-Presse quoted al-Maliki as saying, “There will be no other initiatives on our part as long as there is no sign from Saudi Arabia that it wants to have good ties with Baghdad.” During an April 25 visit to Baghdad, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her concerns at the tension between the neighboring countries. (AFP, May-28)