Iraq protests swell with youth angry at slow pace of reform

University students hold a huge Iraqi flag during ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad on Sunday, January 19, 2020. (Reuters)
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Updated 19 January 2020
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Iraq protests swell with youth angry at slow pace of reform

  • Protesters fear Iraq would be caught in the middle of the geopolitical storm
  • ‘We want to send a message to the government: Stop procrastinating! The people know what you’re doing’

BAGHDAD: Iraqi youth angry at their government’s glacial pace of reform ramped up their protests on Sunday, sealing streets with burning tires and threatening further escalation unless their demands are met.
The rallies demanding an overhaul of the ruling system have rocked Shiite-majority parts of Iraq since October, but had thinned out in recent weeks amid rising Iran-US tensions.
Protesters had feared Iraq would be caught in the middle of the geopolitical storm and last Monday gave the government one week to make progress on reform pledges.
A day before the deadline expires, hundreds of angry young people descended on the main protest camp in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square as well as nearby Tayaran Square.
They burned tires to block highways and bridges, turning back cars and causing traffic jams across the city.
At least 10 people including police officers were wounded when security forces tried to clear the sit-ins with tear gas and protesters responded by throwing rocks, medical and security sources said.
“This is only the first escalation,” one protester with a scarf wrapped around his face said, as smoke from the tires turned the sky behind him a charcoal grey.
“We want to send a message to the government: Stop procrastinating! The people know what you’re doing,” he said, adding ominously: “Tomorrow the deadline ends, and then things could get totally of control.”
Protesters are demanding early elections based on a reformed voting law, a new prime minister to replace current caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi and that officials deemed corrupt be held to account.
Abdel Mahdi resigned nearly two months ago, but political parties have thus far failed to agree on a successor and he has continued to run the government as a caretaker.
Demonstrators have publicly rejected the names circulating as possible replacements and are furious that other sweeping reform measures have not been implemented.
“We began to escalate today because the government did not respond to our demands, notably forming an independent government that could save Iraq,” said Haydar Kadhim, a demonstrator in the southern protest hotspot of Nasiriyah.
“Last Monday, we gave them a deadline of seven days. That deadline ends tonight,” Kadhim said.
A fellow protester, 20-year-old university student Mohammad Kareem, said more escalation could come.
“We gave the government a timeframe to implement our demands, but it looks like it doesn’t care one bit,” he said.
“We will keep up our movement and keep escalating to confront this government, which continues to procrastinate,” Kareem said.
Rallies also swelled in the cities of Kut, Diwaniyah and Amara, where most government offices, schools and universities have been shuttered for months.
In the holy city of Najaf, youth wrapped in checkered black-and-white scarves and carrying Iraqi flags lit tires and began a sit-in on a main road leading to the capital.
Further the south in the oil-rich port city of Basra, students gathered in an ongoing strike in support of the rallies elsewhere.
The protests are the largest and bloodiest grassroots movement in Iraq in decades, with nearly 460 people dead and over 25,000 wounded since they erupted on October 1.
While the violence at the protests themselves has dropped slightly, activists say they face an escalating campaign of intimidation, kidnapping and assassination attempts.
Young protesters are also apprehensive about a rival protest on January 24 organized by firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr in order to pressure US forces to leave.
Last week, Sadr urged Iraqis to hold “a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations.”
Iraqi political figures have ramped up their calls for foreign forces — including some 5,200 US troops — to leave the country following a US drone strike that killed Iran’s revered Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani and top Iraqi military official Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.
Both were key brokers in Iraq’s political scene, which has been left reeling by their absence.
Iraq’s parliament voted on January 5 in favor of ousting foreign forces but the legal procedure for doing so remains murky.
Bases where US forces are stationed have been under a steady stream of rocket attacks for several months that have killed one American contractor and one Iraqi soldier.


Israel army says intercepts Yemen missile after air raid sirens sound

Updated 01 June 2025
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Israel army says intercepts Yemen missile after air raid sirens sound

  • Yemen’s Houthi insurgents later claimed to have fired a 'ballistic missile' at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Sunday after air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and other cities.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the army said in a statement.
Yemen’s Houthi insurgents later claimed to have fired a “ballistic missile” at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.
The group’s military spokesman Yehya Saree said three drones were also launched at Israel.
The Iran-backed group has repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023 with Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Almost all of the projectiles have been intercepted.
Sunday’s interception followed another reported attack on Thursday claimed by the Yemeni militants.
The Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire that ended in March, but began again after Israel resumed its military campaign in the territory.
While most of the projectiles have been intercepted, one missile fired in early May hit inside the perimeter of Ben Gurion airport for the first time.
Israel has carried out several strikes in Yemen in retaliation for the attacks, including on ports and the airport in the capital Sanaa.


Lebanese President Aoun reviews ties, cooperation with Iraqi official

Updated 01 June 2025
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Lebanese President Aoun reviews ties, cooperation with Iraqi official

  • Joseph Aoun said that Lebanon and Iraq face the challenge of terrorism, which is being addressed through security agencies
  • Lebanese and Iraqi presidents emphasized the urgency to end the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip and to support Palestinians

LONDON: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun discussed ties and cooperation with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani during his visit to Iraq on Sunday.

Aoun stressed the importance of establishing an Arab mutual interest system to enhance shared interests among Arab countries during his meeting with Al-Sudani.

In a separate meeting with Rashid at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad, Aoun commended Iraq’s support and donations, including fuel shipments to generate electricity, for the Lebanese people during the recent round of the Israeli-Hezbollah war, which flared up in September 2024.

Aoun said that Lebanon and Iraq face the challenge of terrorism, which is being addressed through security agencies in both countries.

The two presidents emphasized the urgency to end the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip and to support the Palestinian cause without allowing it to be compromised, according to the NNA agency.

Aoun said that Israel must withdraw from the five areas inside the Lebanese territory it has controlled since 2024 and stop its repeated attacks on the country that undermine peace efforts in the region.

Rashid affirmed Iraq’s support for Lebanon and said that Baghdad views positively the recent developments in the country following the formation of the new government in early 2025.


Climate activist Greta Thunberg joins aid ship sailing to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade

Updated 01 June 2025
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg joins aid ship sailing to Gaza aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade

  • The sailing boat Madleen – operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition — departed from the Sicilian port of Catania

CATANIA, Italy: Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at “breaking Israel’s siege” of the devastated territory, organizers said.

The sailing boat Madleen – operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition — departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy.

It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise “international awareness” over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure.

“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech.

“Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide,” she added.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”

In mid-May, Israel slightly eased its blockade of Gaza after nearly three months, allowing a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the territory.

Experts have warned that Gaza is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.

UN agencies and major aid groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Among those joining the crew of the Madleen are “Game of Thrones” actor Liam Cunningham and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent. She has been barred from entering Israel due to her active opposition to the Israeli assault on Gaza.

The activists expect to take seven days to get to their destination, if they are not stopped.

Thunberg, who became an internationally famous climate activist after organizing massive teen protests in her native Sweden, had been due to board a previous Freedom Flotilla ship last month.

That attempt to reach Gaza by sea, in early May, failed after another of the group’s vessels, the “Conscience”, was attacked by two alleged drones while sailing in international waters off the coast of Malta.

The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship, in the latest confrontation over efforts to send assistance to the Palestinian territory devastated by nearly 19 months of war.

The Israeli government says the blockade is an attempt to pressure Hamas to release hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the conflict. Hamas-led militants assaulted southern Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Israel’s bombardment and ground operations have destroyed vast areas of the territory and left most of its population homeless.

The Flotilla group was only the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza’s civilians.

“We are breaking the siege of Gaza by sea, but that’s part of a broader strategy of mobilizations that will also attempt to break the siege by land,” said activist Thiago Avila.

Avila cited the upcoming Global March to Gaza — an international initiative also open to doctors, lawyers and media — which is set to leave Egypt and reach the Rafah crossing in mid-June to stage a protest there, asking Israel to stop the Gaza offensive and reopen the border.


Nearly 250,000 Syrians in Turkiye returned home after Assad regime collapse

Updated 01 June 2025
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Nearly 250,000 Syrians in Turkiye returned home after Assad regime collapse

  • The fall of Assad allowed for the voluntary return of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to their homes
  • In May, 2,723,421 Syrians were living in Turkiye, compared to 3,737,369 in May 2021

LONDON: Nearly 250,000 Syrian refugees living in Turkiye have returned to Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in December, which ended more than a decade of civil strife in the country.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Sunday that data from the Turkish Immigration Directorate showed a significant decline in the number of Syrians with temporary protection status, with nearly 250,000 making a return journey to Syria.

In May, the directorate recorded 2,723,421 Syrians living in Turkiye, compared to 3,737,369 in May 2021, according to the SANA news agency. It added that the fall of Assad’s regime in December allowed for the voluntary return of tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to their homes.

The civil war in Syria, which began in 2011, has displaced nearly 8.5 million people, almost half of the population. The majority of them have ended up in Turkiye and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon.


Arab ministers denounce Israeli ‘arrogance’ over blocking West Bank visit

Updated 01 June 2025
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Arab ministers denounce Israeli ‘arrogance’ over blocking West Bank visit

  • Saudi FM said Israeli stance showed its “extremism and rejection of peace”
  • Ministers held video conference meeting in Amman with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

CAIRO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the Israeli government's refusal to allow Arab ministers to the occupied West Bank showed its “extremism and rejection of peace.”

His statements came during a joint press conference with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain in Amman. 

The Arab ministers condemned what they described as the “arrogant” Israeli decision to ban them from visiting the West Bank and its rejection of any peace efforts.

Members of the Ministerial Committee assigned by the Joint Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit on Gaza met with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman earlier today to discuss ceasefire efforts in the Gaza Strip and a post-war plan.

The Ministerial Committee, which consists of the foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain, along with the Secretary-General of the Arab League, held a video conference meeting in Amman on Sunday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his deputy, Hussein Al-Sheikh, and Mohammad Mustafa, the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.

Ayman Al-Safadi, Jordan's Foreign Minister, said that the “Israeli government continues to kill all the chances of peace in the region” after the committee visit was blocked on Saturday.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan echoed these sentiments and added that the Palestinian Authority continued to carry out its duties while facing a party that did not want any solutions.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told Petra news agency that Jordan and Egypt will strongly confront all Israeli plans to displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

On Saturday, Israel said it will not allow a planned meeting on Sunday in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah to go ahead.