UN envoy warns of civil unrest in Iraq as anger grows over jobs, food and water

Security forces stand guard while protesters chant slogans near the Iraq's parliament in Baghdad on June 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Updated 11 June 2022
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UN envoy warns of civil unrest in Iraq as anger grows over jobs, food and water

  • Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert laments that national interests were “taking a backseat to short-sighted considerations of control over resources”

JEDDAH: Fears are growing of civil unrest in Iraq amid a deadlock in forming a government eight months after parliamentary elections in which Iran- backed parties suffered heavy losses.

The political stalemate has left the caretaker government unable to address challenges including a food crisis caused by severe drought and the war in Ukraine. 

Investments to upgrade water infrastructure have been paused and there is mounting public anger over unemployment, water shortages and soaring food prices.

The UN envoy for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, warned Iraqi political leaders that “the streets are about to boil over” and said national interests were “taking a backseat to short-sighted considerations of control over resources.”

The main winner of last October’s elections was the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr. His Iran-backed Shiite rivals lost about two-thirds of their seats and have rejected the election results.

The wrangling to form a government pits Al-Sadr and his Kurdish and Sunni allies on one side against the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed Shiite parties and their allies, on the other. In the middle are the independents, themselves divided amid attempts by rival factions to lure them to either side.

“It’s not about power, it’s about survival,” said Sajad Jiyad, an Iraq-based fellow with the Century Foundation. There has been lengthy political wrangling before among rival groups in Iraq over choosing a new president and prime minister, but the current stalemate is the longest yet.

Al-Sadr has been unable to organize enough members in parliament to obtain the two-thirds majority required to elect Iraq’s next president — a necessary step ahead of naming the next prime minister and selecting a Cabinet.

Analysts say Iran has not been able to negotiate an agreement between rival Shiite factions previously played by Qassem Soleimani, the Quds Force warlord who was killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport in January 2020. At least three trips to Iraq by Soleimani’s successor to mediate among Shiites have failed to produce a breakthrough.

Tehran has cut 5 million cubic meters of gas exports to Baghdad, because Iraq has not paid for previous supplies. Iraq’s Electricity Minister Adel Karim said last month he had no idea how Iraq would pay the nearly $1.7 billion in arrears before the scorching summer months.

Hopes are also receding that independent members of parliament — parties drawn from the 2019 protest movement — could become a coherent force to represent the protesters’ demands in the legislature.

Some independents have said they faced threats and fear for their lives, and one was offered tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to side with the Iran-backed group.


Explosives put in devices before they arrived in Lebanon, says Lebanon’s UN mission

Updated 5 sec ago
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Explosives put in devices before they arrived in Lebanon, says Lebanon’s UN mission

UNITED NATIONS: A preliminary investigation by Lebanese authorities into the communications devices that blew up in Lebanon this week found that they were implanted with explosives before arriving in the country, according to a letter sent to the UN Security Council by Lebanon’s mission to the United Nations.
The authorities also determined the devices, which included pagers and hand-held radios, were detonated by sending electronic messages to the devices, says the letter, seen by Reuters on Thursday. Israel was responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks, Lebanon’s UN mission said.
The 15-member Security Council is due to meet on Friday over the blasts.
The attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency, which has a long history of carrying out sophisticated attacks on foreign soil.

US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon

Updated 5 min 2 sec ago
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US says no change to its military posture in Middle East amid attacks in Lebanon

“I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said
“We’ve never wanted to see a wider regional conflict“

WASHINGTON: There are no changes to US military posture in the Middle East, the Pentagon told reporters on Thursday when asked about recent deadly Israeli attacks in Lebanon that blew up Hezbollah radios and pagers.
Lebanon and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group have blamed Israel for attacks on Hezbollah’s communications equipment that killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000, overwhelming Lebanese hospitals and wreaking bloody havoc on the militant group.
“I am not tracking any force posture changes in the Eastern Med or in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing.
The Pentagon said that any attack that escalates tensions in the Middle East will not be helpful.
“In pretty much every call the secretary always reiterates the need (that) we want to see regional tensions quell,” Singh said when asked about Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin’s call on Wednesday with his Israeli counterpart. “We’ve never wanted to see a wider regional conflict.”
Israel has not directly commented on the attacks, which security sources say were probably carried out by its Mossad spy agency.
The Pentagon was pressed on the potential for a Gaza ceasefire deal amid escalating regional tensions and said Washington did not believe a deal was falling apart. The spokesperson added that the US felt as of now the conflict was contained to Gaza.
President Joe Biden laid out a three phase Gaza ceasefire proposal on May 31. The deal has run into obstacles since.
Critics have urged Washington to use its leverage by conditioning military support to Israel but the US has maintained its support for its ally.
The attacks in Lebanon have raised concerns about the widening of Israel’s war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies. Israel’s assault on Gaza followed a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Houthis abduct 5 former ruling party members in Sanaa 

Updated 23 min 35 sec ago
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Houthis abduct 5 former ruling party members in Sanaa 

  • All five are senior members of the General People’s Congress, the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh
  • UN envoy urges militia to release detained colleagues to restore hope and trust

AL-MUKALLA: Armed Houthis abducted five tribal leaders, academics and officials after raiding a house in Sanaa, the latest seizures following accusations of criticism and incitement of revolution celebrations.

The group stormed a house in Assafi’yah and arrested Amen Rajeh, a tribal leader and deputy minister of youth, along with Ali Jarmal, Saeed Al-Ghoules, Ahmed Al-Ashari and Nayef Al-Najjar.

All five are senior members of the General People’s Congress, the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. An anonymous source said they were captured for inciting the public to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the Sept. 26 revolution and for online criticism of the Houthis. The Yemeni revolution of September 1962 ended centuries of Zaidi Imamate rule in northern Yemen and laid the groundwork for establishing the Yemen Arab Republic.

The source, a GPC journalist, said: “The September 26 revolution ended the backward Imamate rule, and the Houthis supported that reactionary regime.”

In recent days, the Houthis have raided the homes of people in Sanaa, Ibb, and other areas under their control who have called for revolution celebrations. Residents and local media have reported the abductions of several people, including online activists.

The seizures come as Houthi leaders are asking Yemenis in areas under their control to take to the streets on Saturday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the military takeover which triggered the current war.

At the same time, Yemen’s human rights minister, Ahmed Arman, told Arab News the Houthis had distributed leaflets in the streets of Sanaa, Amran and other areas in northern Yemen, urging the public to assist in identifying spies for Western countries.

One leaflet, shared on X, read: “It is our responsibility as free and honorable Yemenis to report spies for America, Israel, Britain, Holland, and Germany to security authorities and intelligence agencies because they pose the greatest threat to the state, religion, and Islamic nation.”

Following raids on homes and workplaces, the Houthis abducted dozens of people working for UN agencies, international rights and aid organizations, and diplomatic missions, accusing them of using their humanitarian work to spy for US and Israeli intelligence services.

The UN and other organizations have vehemently denied the allegations and called for their employees’ immediate release.

On Wednesday, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced the end of a trip to Iran after “frank and constructive” talks with Iranian officials about peace efforts to end the war in Yemen and the abduction of UN workers.

In a statement, Grundberg said: “Throughout all my engagements, I prioritized lending my voice to the secretary-general’s urgent call to release all detained colleagues. Their release must happen without delay to restore the hope and trust needed for moving forward.”


UN to add nutrients to second round of Gaza polio vaccinations

A Palestinian child is vaccinated against polio in Jabalia in northern Gaza Strip, September 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Updated 19 September 2024
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UN to add nutrients to second round of Gaza polio vaccinations

  • The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90 percent of children under 10 years of age

UNITED NATIONS: The second round of a vaccination campaign to protect 640,000 children in Gaza against polio will also deliver micronutrients — essential vitamins and minerals — and conduct nutritional screening, a senior UN Children’s Fund official said.
Discussions are also underway about the feasibility of adding further vaccinations to the campaign, including a measles immunization, said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian action and supply operations.
“There are over 44,000 children born in the last year and who haven’t received their basic immunization,” he said on Thursday.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on Sept. 1, reached its target of 90 percent of children under 10 years of age, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Monday.
It was carried out in phases over two weeks during humanitarian pauses in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas. A second round of the polio vaccinations has to be carried out within four weeks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
A high risk of famine persists across Gaza as long as the war continues and humanitarian access is restricted, according to an assessment by a global hunger monitor published in June.
“In the same way that we’ve been able to reach all children with polio vaccines, we need to move and use the same modality to reach children with their basic vaccines, with some of the nutrition and hygiene interventions that are essential to save their lives,” Chaiban told reporters after visiting Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.
“Those are lifesaving interventions and the parties have shown that they can line up when necessary. It needs to happen again,” he said.


Blinken urges against ‘escalatory actions’ in Mideast

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives to deliver remarks.
Updated 19 September 2024
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Blinken urges against ‘escalatory actions’ in Mideast

  • France, US are united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to Middle East in general and when it comes to Lebanon in particular: Blinken

PARIS: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Thursday urged against “escalatory actions by any party” in the Middle East, following the explosions of devices of Lebanese group Hezbollah blamed on Israel.
“France and the United States are united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to the Middle East in general and when it comes to Lebanon in particular,” Blinken said after talks in Paris with his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne.
Blinken said this was especially important at a time when the international community was continuing work to agree a ceasefire in Gaza to end the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“We continue to work to get a ceasefire for Gaza over the finish line... We believe that remains both possible and necessary. But meanwhile we don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party that makes that more difficult,” Blinken said.
Sejourne, making one of his final public appearances ahead of a cabinet reshuffle that will see him sent to Brussels as France’s new EU commissioner, said both France and the United States were “very worried about the situation” in the Middle East.
He said both the United States and France were coordinating to “send messages of de-escalation” to the parties.
“Lebanon would not recover from a total war,” he said.
Fears of a major war on Israel’s northern border have increased after thousands of Hezbollah operatives’ communication devices exploded across Lebanon, killing 37 people and wounding nearly 3,000 more across two days.