Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities committed serious human rights violations and abuses in their response to a wave of anti-government protests earlier this month that saw 149 civilians killed, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said.

In a report by its Human Rights Office published late on Monday, UNAMI said there was evidence that security forces had used excessive force against protesters and made mass arrests. There were also reports that security forces had denied protesters medical treatment, it said.

BAGHDAD, Oct 22 (NNN-NINA) – The Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday, to meet with top Iraqi officials over boosting bilateral ties and regional issues.

Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi received Solberg in his office, and the two discussed means of enhancing bilateral ties in various fields, and continuing cooperation in fighting against terrorism, as well as regional issues.

DAMASCUS, Oct 22 (NNN-SANA) – The U.S. forces in Syria have moved more than 1,500 Daesh women from Syria to Iraq, since Turkey launched an assault in northern Syria on Oct 9.

As the U.S. forces are withdrawing from northern Syria, in tandem with the Turkish assault on the Kurdish militia, the U.S. troops have so far taken with them 1,500 Daesh women from the al-Hol camp, in the northeastern province of Hasakah to Iraq.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi government committee investigating a wave of unrest found that 157 people, mostly civilians, were killed because security forces used excessive force and live fire to quell protests, according to a report by the panel seen by Reuters.

Protests over high unemployment, poor public services and corruption erupted on Oct. 1, prompting a violent security crackdown. Protesters blame graft and infighting among political leaders for failing to improve their lives even in peacetime, two years after Islamic State was declared defeated in Iraq.

22 Oct 2019; MEMO: US forces that crossed into Iraq as part of a pull-out from Syria do not have permission to stay and can only be there in transit, the Iraqi military said yesterday.

The Iraqi statement, reported by Reuters, contradicts the Pentagon’s announcement that all of the nearly 1,000 troops withdrawing from northern Syria are expected to move to western Iraq to continue the campaign against Daesh militants and “to help defend Iraq”.

DOHUK, Iraq/KABUL (Reuters) - The Pentagon is considering keeping some U.S. troops near oilfields in northeastern Syria alongside Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to help deny oil to Islamic State militants, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday.

U.S. troops are crossing into Iraq as part of a broader withdrawal from Syria ordered by President Donald Trump, a decision that allowed Turkey to launch an offensive against the SDF which for years was a U.S. ally battling Islamic State.

BARDARASH, Iraq (AP) — For months, every time Turkey threatened to invade northern Syria, Salwa Hanna told her husband they should take their children and flee from the border town of Kobani. And every time, he told her not to worry, because the Americans were there.

18 Oct 2019; MEMO: Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Alhakim said yesterday that his country is ready to receive members of Daesh and their families to be prosecuted in Iraq.

Alhakim indicated during a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Baghdad: “We discussed with the French side the fate of terrorist elements detained inside Syria in light of Turkish military operations.”

17 Oct 2019; MEMO: The Iraqi Foreign Ministry yesterday announced that it had deported 64 children of Uzbek nationality, whose families belong to Daesh.

In a statement, the ministry said that the deportation of the children has been concluded with the participation of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Ministry of Justice and Security Services, and in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The children were handed over to the official authorities in their country.

BAGHDAD, Oct 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Iraq’s military admitted for the first time it had used “excessive force” in nearly a week of deadly protests, as paramilitary units said they were ready to back the government.

More than 100 people have been killed and several thousand wounded in demonstrations increasingly spiralling into violence, with witnesses reporting security forces using water cannons, tear gas and live rounds.

On Sunday evening a mass protest in Sadr City in east Baghdad led to clashes that medics and security forces said left 13 people dead.