Mosul Offensive Catches Residents Off Guard;
Turks Bomb N. Iraq;
New Bloc in Parliament?
The Mosul operation came so unexpectedly for residents of the major northern city that they did not have time to stock up on food. Alexandra Zavis interviews Mosulis who say that they have been living in fear. What is odd is that we weren't having these stories of living in fear in Mosul 2 months ago.
Turkey bombed northern Iraq again on Sunday, retaliating against the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) for its attack on the Turkish military in Anatolia, which left two Turkish soldiers dead. The guerrillas are then alleged to have retreated into Iraq.
McClatchy reports on the precarious position of Sadr City residents whose homes are near to the Green Zone that houses the US embassy and other US offices.
How solid the ceasefire is has yet to be seen. Hadi al-Amiri, a member of parliament who is also head of the paramilitary Badr Corps, said Sunday that the Mahdi Army must disarm. (Since the Badr Army has not disarmed, this statement is the height of hypocrisy). And, PM Nuri al-Maliki maintains that the truce in Sadr City was worked out between the Iraqi parliament and the Sadrists, and that he was not part of the process.
Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that efforts to form an alternative, nationalist bloc in parliament are continuing. It hopes to include the Iraqi National List of Iyad Allawi, the Islamic Virtue Party (Fadhila) and the National Dialogue Council of Salih Mutlak. The Sadrists are said to be studying the possibility of joining, but they have not so far.
For invaluable updates on the situation in Afghanistan, don't miss Barnett Rubin's recent entries at our Global Affairs blog.
Bil McKibben on the defining moment in climate change. . .
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq for Sunday:
' Baghdad
- Around 7 am, a roadside bomb exploded near the oil marketing department in Zayuna neighborhood in east Baghdad. Two civilians were injured in the blast.
- Around 9:30 am a roadside bomb targeted the deputy of the finance minister’s convoy Mr. Fadhel Mahmoud. Six people were injured in the blast.
- Police found 1 dead body in Baghdad in Saidiyah neighborhood in south Baghdad.
Kirkuk
- Saturday night, gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi soldier at Mujaibra of Rashad in west Kirkuk. The soldier was killed immediately.
- Saturday night, gunmen kidnapped a peasant at Tal Aleid of Rashad in west Kirkuk.
- In the morning, police found two dead bodies on the way between Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah. The police found out that those two bodies belonged to two workers who were kidnapped in Khan Khorma in Kirkuk last week. '
Labels: Iraq
posted by Juan Cole @ 5/12/2008 06:14:00 AM
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2 Comments:
You write:
"What is odd is that we weren't having these stories of living in fear in Mosul 2 months ago."
We may not have been reading about it, but the people of Mosul have been living in fear for quite some time. A female attorney who served as a public defender for juveniles in the criminal court - including defending some teenagers charged with terrorism offenses - was gunned down just a few weeks ago because she is female and refused to stop working and remain at home. She got a death threat. The next day, as she left for work in a taxi, gunmen killed her and the driver. "al Qaeda in Iraq" issued a statement claiming responsibility... although Mosul has plenty of former Ba'athists who have become more religiously extreme since the invasion, so defining exactly who "al Qaeda in Iraq" is, is somewhat difficult.
Mosul has a surprisingly active bar association and medical association, and in some ways these professional networks are holding the city together even as the official city government falters. These professionals are trying hard to maintain public health, protect basic rights, and keep the social and civic infrastructure intact in conditions of extreme danger, and they have been fearful for a very long time.
Mosul has grown more and more dangerous over the last three years, the surge notwithstanding. I hope the Iraqi Army has some success there - those who assassinate attorneys such as the one I describe above should never come to power in the city.
This was quietly posted today by Reuters UK:
Iran involved in Sadr City truce says Iraqi MP
Monday, 12 May 2008
(BAGHDAD) - Iran played a prominent role in a deal struck by Iraqi Shi'ite factions to end seven weeks of fighting in the Baghdad stronghold of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a senior Shi'ite Iraqi legislator said on Monday.
Ali al-Adeeb, a member of the ruling Shi'ite alliance who is close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said an Iraqi delegation that went to Tehran almost two weeks ago asked for Iranian help because of Tehran's influence over Sadr's movement.
Adeeb's comments illustrated the growing sway Shi'ite Iran has in Iraq and could unsettle Washington.
The deal to end fighting between security forces and gunmen loyal to the anti-American Sadr was unveiled on Saturday. It was announced after talks between the ruling Shi'ite alliance and Sadr's political movement, which has seats in parliament.
"The Iranians gave a positive response to the demands made by the delegation. They gave those demands to the Sadrist decision makers because they have specific influence on those people," Adeeb, who was part of the delegation, told Reuters.
Full story Here.
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