SULAIMANIYA, Iraq/BAGHDAD: Iraq’s new Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was sworn in on Wednesday with only a partial Cabinet after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus on key postings including interior and defense.
A rowdy parliament session to approve Abdul Mahdi’s government list created more uncertainty for Iraq, months after an inconclusive election, with parties and blocs wrangling over appointments.
The new premier faces the daunting task of rebuilding much of the country after a devastating war against Daesh, as well as solving acute economic problems and power and water shortages.
Eight ministries have yet to be decided, ahead of a Nov. 2 deadline.
Among the 14 ministers who were sworn in, Thamer Ghadhban became Oil Minister and veteran Kurdish politician Fuad Hussein Finance Minister.
Ghadhban replaced Jabar Al-Luaibi, who was recently made head of the new National Oil Company. Ghadhban helped resuscitate a flagging oil industry after the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. He was interim oil minister from 2004-5 and a former energy adviser to outgoing premier Haider Al-Abadi.
Abdul Mahdi was initially expected to nominate a full 22-member cabinet, including the defense and interior ministers.
But lawmakers from Moqtada Al-Sadr’s bloc Saeroon, Abadi’s Nasr Alliance, Vice President Ayad Allawi’s Wataniya, and Sunni Muslim blocs left the room before voting on the remaining eight posts could take place.
“We decided to withdraw from the session, because we are not satisfied with the rest of the cabinet candidates,” said Nasr lawmaker Ali Sined. “It’s enough to approve 14 ministers.”
Parliament will reconvene on Nov. 6 to vote on the remaining ministers, Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi said.
The unruly parliamentary session underscored the difficulties faced by Abdul Mahdi as he seeks consensus over his cabinet.
A May general election saw Saeroon come first after campaigning on an anti-corruption platform. After uncertainty over the results, lawmakers eventually voted in President Barham Salih, the first time in modern Iraqi politics they picked a president, premier or parliament speaker without a backroom deal.
On Wednesday, however, some lawmakers accused proposed ministers of being former Saddam stalwarts, or corrupt.
The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and subsequent sacking of all of Saddam’s Baath party officials stoked sectarian tensions, which then exploded into civil war. Under a de facto power sharing agreement, Iraq’s presidency is now traditionally held by a Kurd, the premiership by a Shiite and the parliament speaker is a Sunni.
Earlier in the day, a Sunni Arab parliamentary bloc pulled out of talks on forming the government.
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Iraq PM sworn with partial cabinet as lawmakers disagree
Iraq PM sworn with partial cabinet as lawmakers disagree
- The new premier faces the daunting task of rebuilding much of the country after a devastating war against Daesh, as well as solving acute economic problems and power and water shortages
- Parliament will reconvene on Nov. 6 to vote on the remaining ministers
5 bodies of migrants washed ashore in east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, police officer says
TRIPOLI: At least five bodies of migrants including two women have been washed ashore in َQasr Al-Akhyar, a coastal town in the east of Libya’s capital Tripoli, a police officer told Reuters on Saturday.
Hassan Al-Ghawil, head of investigations at the Qasr Al-Akhyar police station, said that according to people in the area, a child’s body washed ashore and because of the waves’ height the body returned to the sea, and the coast guard was asked to search for it.
Ghawil said the bodies are all dark-skinned people. The bodies were found on Emhamid Al-Sharif shore in the western part of the town by people who reported to the police station.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Qaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. Factional conflict has split the country into western and eastern factions since 2014.
Qasr Al-Akhyar is a coastal town some 73 kilometers (45 miles) east of Tripoli.
Pictures were posted on the Internet, and also seen by Reuters, showing the bodies of the migrants lying on the shore, where some were still within black inflatable lifebuoys.
“We reported to the Red Crescent to recover the bodies,” said Ghawil. “The bodies we found are still intact and we think there are more bodies to wash ashore.”
Earlier this month, fifty-three migrants, including two babies, were dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Zuwara town in western Tripoli, the International Organization for Migration said.
Last week, a UN report said migrants in Libya, including young girls, are at risk of being killed, tortured, raped or put into domestic slavery, calling for a moratorium on the return of migrant boats to the country until human rights are ensured.
Hassan Al-Ghawil, head of investigations at the Qasr Al-Akhyar police station, said that according to people in the area, a child’s body washed ashore and because of the waves’ height the body returned to the sea, and the coast guard was asked to search for it.
Ghawil said the bodies are all dark-skinned people. The bodies were found on Emhamid Al-Sharif shore in the western part of the town by people who reported to the police station.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Qaddafi to a NATO-backed uprising. Factional conflict has split the country into western and eastern factions since 2014.
Qasr Al-Akhyar is a coastal town some 73 kilometers (45 miles) east of Tripoli.
Pictures were posted on the Internet, and also seen by Reuters, showing the bodies of the migrants lying on the shore, where some were still within black inflatable lifebuoys.
“We reported to the Red Crescent to recover the bodies,” said Ghawil. “The bodies we found are still intact and we think there are more bodies to wash ashore.”
Earlier this month, fifty-three migrants, including two babies, were dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Zuwara town in western Tripoli, the International Organization for Migration said.
Last week, a UN report said migrants in Libya, including young girls, are at risk of being killed, tortured, raped or put into domestic slavery, calling for a moratorium on the return of migrant boats to the country until human rights are ensured.
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