BAGHDAD: Iraq’s president has sued Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani over unpaid salaries for civil servants in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, bringing into focus a rift in the country’s leadership.
President Abdul Latif Rashid, a Kurd, filed the lawsuit against Sudani and Finance Minister Taif Sami last month, but his adviser, Hawri Tawfiq, only announced it on Sunday.
The case, submitted to Iraq’s top court, seeks an order to ensure salaries are paid “without interruption” despite ongoing financial disputes between Baghdad and Irbil, the regional capital.
Iraq’s public sector is wracked with inefficiency and corruption, and analysts say Sudani and Rashid had long had disagreements.
While public sector workers received their January salaries, they are still waiting for their December pay.
Tawfiq said the lawsuit was only disclosed now due to protests over missed payments in Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan’s second-largest city and the president’s hometown.
Kurdistan regional president Nechirvan Barzani recently thanked Sudani for his cooperation on financial issues, including salaries.
On Sunday, hundreds of people from Sulaimaniyah attempted to protest in Irbil, but police used tear gas to disperse them, local media reported.
Others have staged a sit-in for two weeks in Sulaimaniyah, with 13 teachers resorting to a hunger strike.
Last year, Iraq’s top court ordered the federal government to cover the public sector salaries in Kurdistan instead of going through the regional administration — a demand employees in Sulaimaniyah have long called for.
But officials say payments have been erratic due to technical issues.
Political scientist Ihssan Al-Shemmari said the lawsuit underscores deepening tensions between Rashid and Sudani.
“We are facing a significant division within the executive authority, and it is now happening openly,” said Shemmari.
In January, Sudani ordered a probe into Rashid’s son’s company, IQ Internet Services.
MP Hanan Al-Fatlawi addressed Rashid on X, saying: “The fines on your son’s company IQ... are enough to pay the salaries” in Kurdistan.
Iraq president sues PM over unpaid Kurdistan salaries
https://arab.news/r9sjr
Iraq president sues PM over unpaid Kurdistan salaries
- Lawsuit was only disclosed now due to protests over missed payments in Sulaimaniyah
- Iraq’s public sector is wracked with inefficiency and corruption
Syrian government announces ceasefire in Aleppo
- Syrian government forces have been fighting the Kurdish-led SDF force in Aleppo, where at least 21 people have been killed in several days of clashes
DAMASCUS: Damascus: Syria’s defense ministry announced a ceasefire in several neighborhoods of Aleppo on Friday after days of deadly clashes with Kurdish fighters.
“To prevent any slide toward a new military escalation within residential neighborhoods, the Ministry of Defense announces ... a ceasefire in the vicinity of the Sheikh Maqsoud, Alashrafieh, and Bani Zeid neighborhoods of Aleppo, effective from 3:00 am,” the ministry wrote in a statement.
Syrian government forces have been fighting the Kurdish-led SDF force in Aleppo, where at least 21 people have been killed in several days of clashes.
Both sides have traded blame over who started the clashes on Tuesday, which comes as implementation stalls on a deal to merge the Kurds’ administration and military into the government.
The worst violence in Aleppo since Syria’s Islamist authorities took power has also highlighted regional tensions between Damascus ally Turkiye and Israel, which condemned what it described as attacks against the Kurds.
