Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert, special representative of the secretary-general for Iraq, held talks with the head of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Qais al-Khazali, to settle the election results crisis.
Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert, special representative of the secretary-general for Iraq, has attended last night, Nov 18, the meeting of Coordination Framework that includes most of the political parties lost in the elections.
Sadr calls for forming majority government as the Iraqi President Barham Salih hosted a meeting with the prime minister and the judiciary head to discuss the current political deadlock and present initiatives for it.
Amidst the political deadlock following Iraq’s elections on Oct. 10, Iraqi President Barham Salih hosted a meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zaidan on Nov. 18 at Baghdad Palace in the Green Zone.
After suffering grievously under ISIS, and during the battles to defeat it, Raqqa is being rebuilt. The calm is tenuous, however. The U.S. and partners should work toward long-term stability in Syria’s north east, through investment and talks about sustainable governance and security arrangements.
Principal Findings
What’s new? Two years after an abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops followed by a Turkish incursion, Raqqa is largely quiet. Yet the stability of this Kurdish-controlled predominantly Arab province in north-eastern Syria is precarious and hinges on U.S. deterrence of military moves from Turkey and/or Russia in tandem with the Damascus regime.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that a batch of fighters consisted of 140 mercenaries loyal to Turkey left Libyan territory back to Syria on Turkish planes on Tuesday.
The mercenaries follow the factions of the “Sultan Murad Division,” the “Hamza Division,” and other factions as well, and they left Libya without sending a replacement until this moment, according to the Observatory sources.
SOHR activists have reported new 50 airstrikes by Russian fighter jets have targeted positions in Ghanem al-Ali region, Deir Ezzur Desert, al-Beshri Mountains and Atheria district in the Syrian Desert.
On the other hand, three Russian helicopters participated in scouting operation and the areal shelling of the region.
Idlib province: SOHR sources have reported that Turkish forces have erected soil barriers on the outskirts of Saraqeb city to the east of Idlib city, as Turkish forces are preparing for establishing a new military post in that position which is near regime positions in Saraqeb.
In 2019, disillusioned with their political system, thousands of Iraqis protested and called for an end to rampant corruption siphoning their country’s oil wealth, for better public services and change in the government. The protest triggered a new election in October 2021, the result of which has given a new picture, unlike in the past. The Iraqi nationalist parties have emerged as the main gainers. This has generated hope that the new government will try to address the issues of political instability, economic crisis, inflation, unemployment, among others. The government will also have to maintain a balance between the US, the Arab allies, Iran and Turkey, the main external actors active in Iraq. Given the number and intensity of the challenges, the new government will have to show some extraordinary diplomatic skills to manage them.
“Guys, listen, most of you want to emigrate. Follow this plan: we need 40 volunteers. All the Brooklyn guys who book a flight to Turkey will fly over Spain. One of you will activate the GPS and when the plane approaches Spain you will begin to scream and feign an illness. The stewardess will come and ask for patience until the plane arrives in Turkey. At this moment the others begin to protest and claim that the passenger is going to die… If everyone shows sympathy for the sick passenger, the plane will make an emergency landing in Spain to protect the reputation of the company and to free itself of responsibility.” — Description of a plot to enter Spain illegally, published in a Moroccan Facebook group, as reported by El Mundo and EFE news agency, November 7, 2021.
All is still not well in Iraqi politics some eighteen years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime. In 2019, a wave of popular protest known as the Tishreen movement swept across the country, as demonstrators called for fundamental reform of the post-2003 political system. Elections held in October, which the government brought forward by six months in response to anger on the street, are the only tangible result of the protests to date. Yet well under half the electorate showed up to vote, raising doubt that the system can generate the legitimacy it so desperately needs. Meanwhile, some of the losing parties are crying fraud in a bid to change the results or at least improve their chances of gaining advantageous positions in a new cabinet. Some have resorted to violence – including, it appears, an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi – to press their demands. The most plausible outcome is another coalition that is ill equipped to govern and thus may not survive for very long.
Violent explosions rocked the areas under the control of the Syrian regime in the western countryside of Deir Ezzor, yesterday morning (Sunday), caused by intense air strikes, carried out by Russian warplanes on areas in the desert of the region, in an attempt to target ISIS, which is hiding in the caves and caves of the Badia. From him, hours after an ambush carried out by the organization, which caused heavy casualties among the militias loyal to the regime.