NAJAF: A sandstorm in central and southern Iraq sent more than 1,800 people to hospitals with respiratory problems on Monday, health officials said.
Authorities temporarily shut the airports in the southern provinces of Najaf and Basra as the sandstorm — the biggest this year — obscured visibility in an eery orange cloud.
Iraq, which endures blistering summer heat and regular sandstorms, is one of the five countries most impacted by some effects of climate change, says the United Nations.
Hospitals in Muthanna province in southern Iraq received at least “700 cases of suffocation,” local health official Mazen Al-Egeili said.
More than 250 people were hospitalized in Najaf province, according to its health directorate.
An AFP photographer in Najaf saw police officers and pedestrians wearing face masks to shield themselves from the suffocating cloud of dust that hung heavily in the air.
Inside a nearby ambulance, a paramedic assisted a young man who was gasping for air.
At least 322 patients including children flocked to hospitals in Diwaniyah province, said Amer Al-Kinani, the provincial health department’s media officer.
In Dhi Qar and Basra provinces more than 530 people had breathing problems, local health officials said.
The sandstorm drastically reduced visibility to less than one kilometer (0.62 mile) but it is expected to gradually dissipate by Tuesday morning, weather services said.
In 2022, one person died and more than 5,000 were treated in hospitals for respiratory ailments due to a heavy sandstorm in Iraq.
The environment ministry has warned the country can expect to experience a rising number of “dust days” in coming decades.
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Iraq sandstorm leaves 1,800 people with respiratory problems
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Iraq sandstorm leaves 1,800 people with respiratory problems
- Authorities temporarily shut the airports in the southern provinces of Najaf and Basra
Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir in spotlight over Trump’s Gaza plan
- Munir may visit Washington to discuss Trump’s Gaza force, sources tell Reuters
- US president’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most powerful military chief in decades faces the toughest test of his newly amassed powers as Washington pushes Islamabad to contribute troops to the Gaza stabilization force, a move analysts say could spark domestic backlash.
Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to fly to Washington to meet President Donald Trump in the coming weeks for a third meeting in six months that will likely focus on the Gaza force, two sources told Reuters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Palestinian territory, decimated by over two years of Israeli military bombardment.
Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarise Gaza’s Islamist militant group Hamas, which could drag them into the conflict and enrage their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli populations.
But Munir has built a close relationship with the mercurial Trump to repair years of mistrust between Washington and Islamabad. In June, he was rewarded with a White House lunch — the first time a US president hosted Pakistan’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.
“Not contributing (to the Gaza stabilization force) could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pakistani state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces — in great part to secure US investment and security aid,” said Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia at Washington-based Atlantic Council.
’PRESSURE TO DELIVER’
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, has a battle-hardened military having gone to war with arch-rival India three times and a brief conflict this summer. It has also tackled insurgencies in its far-flung regions and is currently embroiled in a bruising war with Islamist militants who it says are operating from Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s military strength means “there is a greater pressure on Munir to deliver his capacity,” said author and defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.
Pakistan’s military, foreign office and information ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters. The White House also did not respond to a request for a comment.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last month that Islamabad could consider contributing troops for peacekeeping but disarming Hamas “is not our job.”
UNPRECEDENTED POWER
Munir was earlier this month anointed chief of the defense forces to head the air force and navy as well, with a job extension until 2030.
He will retain his field marshal title forever, as well as enjoy lifetime immunity from any criminal prosecution under the constitutional amendments that Pakistan’s civilian government pushed through parliament late last month.
“Few people in Pakistan enjoy the luxury of being able to take risks more than Munir. He has unbridled power, now constitutionally protected,” Kugelman added.
“Ultimately, it will be Munir’s rules, and his rules only.”
THE HOME FRONT RISK
Over the past few weeks, Munir has met military and civilian leaders from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar, according to the military’s statements, which Siddiqa said appeared to be consultations on the Gaza force.
But the big concern at home is that the involvement of Pakistan troops in Gaza under a US-backed plan could re-ignite protests from Pakistan’s Islamist parties that are deeply opposed to the US and Israel.
The Islamists have street power to mobilize thousands. A powerful and violent anti-Israel Islamist party that fights for upholding Pakistan’s ultra-strict blasphemy laws was banned in October.
Authorities arrested its leaders and over 1,500 supporters and seized its assets and bank accounts in an ongoing crackdown, officials said.
While Islamabad has outlawed the group, its ideology is still alive.
The party of former jailed premier, Imran Khan, whose supporters won the most seats in the 2024 national elections and has wide public support, also has an axe to grind against Munir.
Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said if things escalated once the Gaza force was on the ground, it would cause problems quickly.
“People will say ‘Asim Munir is doing Israel’s bidding’ — it will be foolhardy of anyone not to see it coming.”
Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to fly to Washington to meet President Donald Trump in the coming weeks for a third meeting in six months that will likely focus on the Gaza force, two sources told Reuters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy.
Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for a force from Muslim nations to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Palestinian territory, decimated by over two years of Israeli military bombardment.
Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarise Gaza’s Islamist militant group Hamas, which could drag them into the conflict and enrage their pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli populations.
But Munir has built a close relationship with the mercurial Trump to repair years of mistrust between Washington and Islamabad. In June, he was rewarded with a White House lunch — the first time a US president hosted Pakistan’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.
“Not contributing (to the Gaza stabilization force) could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pakistani state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces — in great part to secure US investment and security aid,” said Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia at Washington-based Atlantic Council.
’PRESSURE TO DELIVER’
Pakistan, the world’s only Muslim country with nuclear weapons, has a battle-hardened military having gone to war with arch-rival India three times and a brief conflict this summer. It has also tackled insurgencies in its far-flung regions and is currently embroiled in a bruising war with Islamist militants who it says are operating from Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s military strength means “there is a greater pressure on Munir to deliver his capacity,” said author and defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.
Pakistan’s military, foreign office and information ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters. The White House also did not respond to a request for a comment.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last month that Islamabad could consider contributing troops for peacekeeping but disarming Hamas “is not our job.”
UNPRECEDENTED POWER
Munir was earlier this month anointed chief of the defense forces to head the air force and navy as well, with a job extension until 2030.
He will retain his field marshal title forever, as well as enjoy lifetime immunity from any criminal prosecution under the constitutional amendments that Pakistan’s civilian government pushed through parliament late last month.
“Few people in Pakistan enjoy the luxury of being able to take risks more than Munir. He has unbridled power, now constitutionally protected,” Kugelman added.
“Ultimately, it will be Munir’s rules, and his rules only.”
THE HOME FRONT RISK
Over the past few weeks, Munir has met military and civilian leaders from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar, according to the military’s statements, which Siddiqa said appeared to be consultations on the Gaza force.
But the big concern at home is that the involvement of Pakistan troops in Gaza under a US-backed plan could re-ignite protests from Pakistan’s Islamist parties that are deeply opposed to the US and Israel.
The Islamists have street power to mobilize thousands. A powerful and violent anti-Israel Islamist party that fights for upholding Pakistan’s ultra-strict blasphemy laws was banned in October.
Authorities arrested its leaders and over 1,500 supporters and seized its assets and bank accounts in an ongoing crackdown, officials said.
While Islamabad has outlawed the group, its ideology is still alive.
The party of former jailed premier, Imran Khan, whose supporters won the most seats in the 2024 national elections and has wide public support, also has an axe to grind against Munir.
Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said if things escalated once the Gaza force was on the ground, it would cause problems quickly.
“People will say ‘Asim Munir is doing Israel’s bidding’ — it will be foolhardy of anyone not to see it coming.”
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