Special Report: The Forgotten Displaced Families of Anbar
by Cathy Otten with Introduction by Ahmed Ali
Introduction
On March 20th, Erbil-based reporter Cathy Otten and I visited Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Anbar to document their living conditions and situation. Starting in January 2014, Iraqi families from the Fallujah area in eastern Anbar were part of the first wave of forced migration caused by the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as ISIL or ISIS, and the ensuing war between the Iraqi government and ISIS. Today, these Anbari families are among Iraq’s most vulnerable people, largely forgotten by the outside world.
IDPs have been forced to flee to safer areas across Iraq, with a majority heading north to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In the region’s capital, Erbil, large numbers of IDPs from Fallujah settled in the city of Shaqlawa at the foot of Safin Mountain north of the capital. The presence of 8,000 Anbari families who are mostly from Fallujah in Shaqlawa has earned the city the nickname “Shaqlujah.” Many of these families reside in urban areas where conditions are difficult. During our visit, the IDPs who are predominantly Iraqi Sunni detailed their needs and sentiments. With their ordeal going on for so long, they feel neglected. They talked of needing financial support, employment, education, health care, and food. These needs are crucial but meeting them has proven to be difficult due to the financial challenges the Iraqi government faces and reports of corruption. Right now, it is especially urgent to ensure that these families have what they need to endure Iraq’s long, hot summer, including refrigerators, fans, air conditioners, and access to clean water.
The IDPs from Fallujah feel a sense of betrayal by the Iraqi government, local Anbar officials, and the international community. Speaking to some IDPs also revealed the deep distrust that exists between Iraq’s Shi’a and Sunni communities. Such feelings shed light on the challenges ahead for reconciliation when these families eventually return to their homes. — Ahmed Ali, Washington, D.C.
Life for Anbar’s forgotten, displaced families
SHAQLAWA, IRAQ — Opening his mouth in the damp, windowless room, Ayhem Al Jumaili starts to sing of a home he left over a year ago – when he was not yet four. “I had a dream I returned to Fallujah,” he sings as his small voice fills the room, “but I awoke and was still far away.”
Ayhem memorized the song from fragments of stories and text messages passed around by family and friends who fled Fallujah over a year ago, travelling north to Shaqlawa in Iraqi Kurdistan; after ISIS-led forces took control and fighting broke out between insurgents and government forces.
Now a new wave of families are escaping violent clashes in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, as ISIS attempts to take that city too, dashing Ayhem’s dreams of returning home. In April more than 114,000 people fled the Ramadi area towards Baghdad.
Um Mustafa sits listening to her son Ayhem sing in their partly built shelter, which lies under the Safeen Mountain. Her eyes fill with tears. Gaping holes in the walls are covered with sheets of blue tarpaulin; giving the room a dim, aqua glow. Winter is receding but the clouds outside are dark. Later it will pour down – drenching the floors and clothes of families like theirs living in abandoned buildings.
In the center of town ice cream shops and family eateries are closed for Friday prayers and the Kurdish imam’s sermon drifts out over quiet streets. Over eight thousand displaced families, around 40,000 people now live in Shaqlawa according to local aid workers, most of them from Fallujah living in rented homes or unfinished buildings, open to the elements.
ISIS advances have been well documented since Um Mustafa escaped Fallujah, unlike the lives of Sunni Arabs forced from their homes. Civilians who fled shelling, street fighting and barrel bombing are sheltering where they can, but say they were almost entirely forgotten – until ISIS pushed forward through northern Iraq last summer, displacing and terrorizing minority groups that made the international media and aid groups suddenly take notice.
“It has been one year and two months since I have seen my family, my house, my city,” says a displaced man from Fallujah drinking tea on a rainy morning in the deserted center of Shaqlawa. “Unlike 99 percent of the people in the world I love Fallujah, it is my city. I used to take pictures of the river, the sun, the clouds and the mosques.”
He says that for him Fallujah was the city of mosques, but now, “It is a city of ghosts, there is no electricity, no water. ISIS controls everything. There is shelling and bombing everywhere. People there say they can only use small generators for power, some even use wood to cook with.”
“Families became the victims”
Um Mustafa left her home in Garma, east of Fallujah with her husband and her children, Ayhem, Mustafa, Hijiran and Ghfran at the end of January 2014 after insurgent groups moved into Fallujah. Her relative Abu Harib, says that ISIS launched attacks from civilian areas and the army would respond, “Families became the victims,” he says, sitting on the floor by Um Mustafa.
The family travelled north to Samarra in Salahaddin province and then to Kirkuk, living in abandoned buildings along the way while the men searched for work as day laborers, finding little. They came to Erbil and settled in Shaqlawa, which is nestled into misty green hills not far from the Rawanduz gorge.
Um Mustafa and her 26 relatives, including 15 children, share just two bedrooms. They are thankful that the Kurdish owners of the unfinished building are allowing them to stay, but leaks in the roof persist and before the one toilet was moved outside, Um Mustafa says “I would wake up in the morning and want to cry because of the bad smell.”
“We were the happiest people [in Garma] – all we want is safety and peace,” she says about life in the town before the battles began. But they add that they haven’t felt comfortable in Garma since the fall of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003 as arbitrary arrests in the aftermath were common. But then, at least “we had our homes.”
Most of the 15 children living here had their schooling broken by war, only attending classes briefly last year in Samarra. Instead to keep busy they write poetry together and think about returning home.
The winter has been hard. The family didn’t have enough fuel to run the oil heater and Um Mustafa’s chest is bad. She coughs, but they are struggling to afford treatment or transport to the hospital. In the summer keeping food cool will be difficult. At the moment the family store dry food in empty plastic bottles to keep rats away.
Aid organizations such as World Vision provide food vouchers for families like Um Mustafa’s, totaling about $26 per family every month, and the International Organization for Migration have given blankets. But much of the support they receive comes from neighbors, mirroring stories of displaced people across Iraq who rely on the support of the local communities who shelter them.
“If I go to the south they will kill me”
Across Shaqlawa we are welcomed into Tin City, a muddy warren of cinder block homes, high up on the rain drenched hill overlooking the town. Outside our feet sink into rich, clay-like mud.
Abu Ahmed, 45, a large man with an air of authority shares his two-roomed home with 14 members of his family . Close to 35 families from Fallujah live in houses covered with pieces of tin and tarpaulin which is how the settlement got its nickname. “During snow storms and rain showers water comes through the roof so we had to put up plastic sheets,” he says, sitting in his living room as the storm clouds gather outside.
Abu Ahmed and his family left Fallujah in February 2014 due to the fear of living under constant shelling. They went north to Samarra in Salahaddin province, but after the fall of Tikrit, he says security deteriorated so they left there too.
The family survives off monthly food coupons and the odd day of construction work, but even that has dried up recently as the Kurdistan region suffers from its own financial crisis. Meeting their monthly rent payment of between $170 and $250 is not easy. “Yesterday is too soon to go back,” says Abu Ahmed, although he doesn’t know if their home is still standing. “Two months ago we heard that ISIS went in to our home and took everything. We don’t know what the conditions the house is in now,” he says.
Anbaris in Shaqlawa live in safety but not at ease, as phone calls and messages flood in from those still living under ISIS. “In Fallujah there was work and my children were students – they didn’t have to go out and work,” says Abu Ahmed, who is thankful to his Kurdish neighbors. “The people of Kurdistan have done their best [to help us], we thank the Kurds a million times.”
He looks over at a small TV screen lighting up the corner of the room with news of battles in central and western Iraq, and then turns and says sadly, “The western world is not barbaric, they believe in the value of human life but we believe they are not doing enough for this crisis.” Many families like his sell their monthly food vouchers at a loss, just to be able to pay the rent on their partly built homes.
Anbaris say they feel abandoned by their provincial leaders and the central government in Baghdad. “If I go to the south they will kill me,” says one displaced man from Fallujah a little later, standing on the street in Tin City and expressing his fear of reprisal attacks as a Sunni Arab for ISIS brutality if he went to the Shiite south of Iraq.
“I had to come here. No one will help us. Not Baghdad and not the Anbar council. Where is the money? Where are our human rights?” he says, reaching the apex of his speech before turning and heading back inside, adding “The most important thing is that safety and security are restored.”
To learn more about the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and how EPIC is contributing to relief efforts, please visit our website. If you are interested in following EPIC’s reports contact us or subscribe. You can also follow EPIC on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, and LinkedIn.
Check out our most recent initiatives of Soccer Salam and TentEd today and help us reach the thousands of children and families in need in Iraq.
Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor
By Alec Lynde and Jonathan Frederickson
Updates: March 20, 2015
- As Iraq’s joint security forces secure large areas of Salah al-Din province, the Labaika Ya Rasool Allah offensive comes to a near halt amid a particularly violent effort by Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants to hold onto territory in central neighborhoods in Tikrit.
- Although joint security forces continue to make headway in several areas of Anbar province, the security situation remains uncertain and as a result the humanitarian situation continues to worsen.
- Ongoing operations by Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga and Turkmen Popular Mobilization Units (TPMUs) in Kirkuk are placing pressure on ISIS militants in the district of Hawija – the last significant ISIS stronghold in Kirkuk province – and in the neighboring district of Al-Shirqat – an ISIS stronghold in Salah al-Din province.
- Despite some efforts to protect civilians in conflict zones, new warnings and reports across Iraq raise serious humanitarian and human rights concerns, underscoring challenges faced by the Government of Iraq (GOI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in simultaneously waging war against ISIS while protecting and meeting the needs of affected populations.
- With spring fast approaching, reports indicate that the Mosul offensive will begin soon and that residents of Mosul are prepared to support joint security forces in clearing ISIS militants from the city.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/1MRo5Au
Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor
By Alec Lynde and Jonathan Frederickson
Updates: February 27, 2015
- Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) destroyed cultural and historic artifacts in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. These actions have added to the loss of priceless cultural heritage since ISIS took control of the city of Mosul.
- Security problems continue in Diyala province amid a deepening humanitarian crisis, increased civilian kidnappings, and numerous assassination attempts against provincial officials.
- Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) that include Iraqi Shi’a militias, and anti-ISIS tribal forces launched a campaign to clear the city of Tikrit and Salah al-Din province in northern Iraq of ISIS. These operations are likely to lead to waves of population displacement that local authorities are preparing for them.
- ISF and anti-ISIS tribal forces continued operations in Anbar to clear ISIS in the sub-district of al-Baghdadi district in western Anbar following the arrival of reinforcements.
- Following the lifting of nightly curfews in Wasit, Muthana, Maysan, and Dhi Qar security forces increased their presence as preemptive security measures.
Read the full report here: http://bit.ly/18vOs0g
Help Us Move the Ball Down the Field
By Taif Jany, EPIC’s Program Associate
Currently, more than 3 million people are displaced from their homes in Iraq, including 2 million who were forced to flee their homes and livelihoods because of violence over the past year. Roughly half of those displaced are children.
Right now, they need our support. They need to know that someone out there cares.
I know because I was once among those children. Targeted violence against my family, including the kidnapping and disappearance of my father, forced us to flee Baghdad in 2006. Fortunately, there were concerned Americans who reached out to help me, to show that they cared, and to invest in my future, helping me become the man I am today.
With Soccer Salam, you now have an opportunity to make a similar difference in the life of a young person who urgently needs your support.
With only $10, you can hand an Iraqi child a soccer ball and an opportunity to play. Just $50 will deliver emergency assistance to a family in need.
Please join me as we move the ball down the field toward our goal of helping 5,000 children and families who have been forced to flee their homes.
6 Things We Accomplished in Erbil
I would like to share with you a recap of the recent successes of TentEd, a project of EPIC, to support the education of displaced children in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
I returned to the KRI in December 2014 with over $18,000 in donations from a growing network of friends and supporters. Since the first TentEd project last June, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis, have joined the war-fleeing Syrians in taking refuge in the safety of the KRI. These tragic circumstances gave our work even more significance and urgency.
Working with Kurdish officials and trusted partners like International Volunteers of Yamagata and the Chaldean Church, TentEd successfully funded several rapid impact initiatives, including:
- Helping set up a library in Mar Elia Church in Erbil. Now nearly 200 child refugees, who live in the church courtyard with their families, have a place to read and learn in a safe environment.
- Covering the cost for one-month of transportation for 260 students at Kobani Elementary School. This simple investment offsets the largest education-related cost refugee families have to bear.
- Compensating 24 teachers who had not been paid in months with a $100 stipend each to help them get by.
- Distributing winter jackets to 51 children from low-income families.
- Purchasing a faculty computer and printer so teachers don’t have to take their administrative tasks home or work on borrowed computers.
- And my favorite: providing eyeglasses to one cute girl who was unable to read or write because she could not see.
As you can see, our responsive grassroots approach allows us to make an outside impact with a relatively small amount of money. Our second project was a great success that could not have been possible without the generous donations of so many of you.
We look forward to sharing future plans with you. Thank you again for your continued support!
Zack Bazzi is leading TentEd in Iraq with sponsorship from EPIC.
Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor
By Ahmed Ali
Updates: February 13, 2015
- The head of the Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee alleged that the anti-ISIS coalition is providing weapons to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham via airdrops. This sentiment was echoed by an Iraqi Shi’a MP. This is a concerning development even though it is rhetorical. However, the rhetoric is gaining attention and could undermine the anti-ISIS effort.
- ISIS launched a major offensive targeting the town of al-Baghdadi in western Anbar province. Baghdadi is home to the al-Asad airbase where there are currently 300 U.S. military advisors. Baghdadi was attacked in the past but ISIS is likely seeking to control the airbase. This attack was also unique given reports that ISIS activated sleeper cells in the city, which if confirmed would be a first within the city center. There will likely be a wave of displacement if ISIS gains control of Baghdadi and the loss of Baghdadi would be a serious blow to the anti-ISIS effort in Anbar. Therefore, the Iraqi government and relief community must prepare for that contingency.
- Baghdad Operations Command launched operations in Baghdad and its environs to secure the capital. This effort took place as violence continued in Baghdad with the capital area witnessing car bombs and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks.
- Significant clashes continued in the northern province of Kirkuk between the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga and ISIS.
- ISIS and the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) clashed around the city of Samarra in Salah ad-Din. These clashes are notable given Samarra’s status as the home to important religious shrines, including al-Askari Shrine.
Increasing Accusations against the International anti-ISIS Coalition as National Guards Law Draft is reportedly under Review
On February 12, Iraqi Shi’a member of the Council of Representatives (CoR) from the National Alliance, Ali al-Bderi, stated that there is a “strange phenomenon that is repeated daily with weapon-loaded planes landing… for terrorist groups from unknown sides.” Bderi’s remarks followed February 10 comments by Sadrist MP and head of the CoR’s Security and Defense Committee, Hakim al-Zamili, that criticized the international anti-ISIS coalition and alleged that it is airdropping weapons to ISIS.
There were also reactions to the newly proposed laws of the National Guards and possibly national amnesty. On February 7, member of the CoR from the State of Law Alliance (SLA), Mohammed al-Saihud, expressed opposition to the proposed laws of National Guards, Accountability and Justice Law, and General Amnesty. According to Saihud, those who “talk about releasing guilty prisoners want to get the political process into chaos.” Saihud added that the SLA would seek to block some of the proposed laws. MP from the Iraqi Sunni National Forces Union (NFU), Ahmed al-Salmani, stated that the passage of the General Amnesty law is particularly important.
On February 11, the CoR decided to postpone discussion on banning the Ba’ath party “until further notice” and member of the NFU Mutahidun Intisar al-Juburi stated that there are issues with the legal mechanisms with regards to the National Guards Law and that the CoR leadership has requested a review of those mechanisms from the cabinet. Juburi added that there might be discrepancies according to Iraqi Sunni ministers in the draft law approved by the cabinet and the draft that reached the CoR. According to Juburi, the CoR leadership is investigating the matter. Meanwhile, President Fouad Masum, ratified the 2015 budget on February 10.
Anbar Governor Refuses Deployment of the Popular Mobilization Units and ISIS Attacks Major Airbase in Anbar
On February 7, 200 Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) member were repositioned in Al-Kaserat area, near the town of al-Baghdadi in western Anbar reportedly in preparations to attack Baghdadi which is home to al-Asad airbase. On February 7, coalition airstrikes also targeted ISIS position in western Anbar and also reportedly in Ramadi. On February 9, members of the Al-Obaid and Albu Mahal tribes clashed with ISIS in the Horan Valley area, outside of the al-Baghdadi district. On February 10, governor of Anbar province Suhaib al-Rawi stated that he did not request assistance from Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) which include Iraqi Shi’a militias due to “problems” that can trigger.
Governor Rawi added that only the army and police forces should have jurisdiction in Anbar province. On February 11, ISIS attacked the Albu Ghanim area, east of Ramadi but the attack was repelled. On February 12, ISIS launched a major offensive targeting al-Baghdadi sub-district which is home to the al-Asad airbase. The attack included penetration into the city by ISIS and reported activation of sleeper cells. ISIS elements targeted government offices including the police station.
As the attack was underway, Sheikh Naim al-Gaoud from the Anbari Albu Nimr tribe immediately warned that areas near al-Baghdadi and Hit are in danger of falling to ISIS if Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi does not send reinforcements to bolster ISF. Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) supported by anti-ISIS coalition airstrikes repelled the attack. Al-Baghdadi is important given that it is the largest ISF base in Anbar and there are over three hundred U.S. military advisors stationed in the base.
Reactions to Demilitarized Baghdad Neighborhoods
On February 1, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi ordered the four areas of Mansour, Saydiyah, Adhamiyah, in addition to Karrada to be “weapon-free.” On February 7, Baghdad’s deputy governor, Jassim al-Bakhati, stated that the decision is welcome and is intended to represent a test that can be expanded throughout Baghdad if it proves to be successful. Bakhati added that the decision was motivated by political parties present in residential areas and are using weapons to cause difficulties for the population. Bakhati added that the Ministry of Interior will eventually have sole security provision authority in Baghdad. Member of Baghdad’s provincial security committee, Thamer al-Sarhid, stated that the decision is intended to “[clear] members pretending to be with the PMUs” and that some parties and organizations have set up checkpoints. Baghdad provincial council member and member of the Badr Organization, called on PMU members to use the weapons and ammunition on the battle field instead of Baghdad.
Security Forces Seek to Secure Baghdad as Violence Continues in the Capital and its Environs
On February 7, two attackers wearing explosive vests (SVESTs) attacked two locations in Baghdad. The first SVEST attacker targeted a restaurant in the Baghdad al-Jadida neighborhood killing 30 civilians and injuring 66 others. The second SVEST attacker targeted the Arabi market killing 6 civilians and injuring 28 others. On February 8, Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) announced that its forces conducted several operations south and west of Baghdad city. The areas included Shurtan near Abu Ghraib, Halabsa, Arab Jassim, Ahmed al-Hel, and Tal al-Dir near Taji. The operations resulted in seizing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and weapons caches.
On February 9, a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) exploded in the Kadhmiyah district in northwestern Baghdad killing at least 10 people and injuring 3. On February 10, a VBIED detonated near a market in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, killing 2 people and injuring 11 others. On February 11, BOC forces conducted operations in Baghdad’s vicinities targeting armed elements. On the same day, mortar rounds fell in the Shula neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad and resulted in injury of seven civilians. On February 12, an IED exploded near a market in al-Rashid area in southern Baghdad and another IED exploded near a market in the Amil District, southwest of Baghdad. The attacks resulted in the death of three people and injury of 16 civilians.
The Persistent Clashes in Kirkuk and Around Samarra
On February 7, ISIS destroyed a bridge that connects the Nahrwan area with the Khalid area southwest of Kirkuk Province. According to sources, the attack is intended to disrupt any operations by the Iraqi Kurdish Pershmerga or other forces towards Kirkuk. On February 8, a security sources stated that a convoy carrying Hadi al-Ameri, Iraqi Shi’a member of the Council of Representatives (CoR), the secretary general of the Badr Organization, and a senior leader in the PMUs, came under attack by ISIS near Kirkuk. The attack did not result in any injuries and Ameri was visiting Kirkuk during that period.
On February 10, an international coalition airstrike reportedly killed 15 ISIS members in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk. On February 11, ISIS attacked Peshmerga positions in the Daquq and Taza areas in southern Kirkuk and the attack was repelled with the assistance of the international anti-ISIS coalition airstrikes. In Salah ad-Din, the Brigades of Jihad, a PMU formation operating in Salah ad-Din province, repelled an ISIS attack near Huwaish on February 8, west of Samarra city. On the same day, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) reportedly secured the road from Samarra to Baiji and Iraqi Air Force in addition to coalition airstrikes targeted ISIS elements east of Baiji.
On February 10, two SVBIEDs detonated on the road linking Samarra and Thar Thar southwest of Samarra city. The attack killed 6 members of the ISF and wounded 29 others. On February 11, an SVBIED detonated at Speicher airbase, located north of Tikrit, killing 2 members of the ISF and injuring 13 others. On February 11, an SVBIED targeted the Federal Police in Mkeshfa, north of Samarra, wounding 5 members of the Federal Police. On February 11, an SVBIED targeted the Muthana Complex which is located between Samarra and Thar Thar.
On February 11, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and PMUs also reportedly secured positions in the Baiji area including a bridge in the Fatha area. On February 12, 14 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) were killed and 12 were injured in clashes with Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants in al-Zalaya and Mkeshfa, south of Tikrit. On February 12, member of the CoR’s Energy Committee, Zahir al-Abadi, stated that ISIS is “smuggling 300 of [oil] barrels a day from the Ajil field in the Alam sub-district, east of Tikrit.” Abadi called for the Iraqi government to target those “ISIS hideout” and highlighted that funds from these fields are helping ISIS.
Ahmed Ali is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Education for Peace in Iraq Center.
Iraq Security and Humanitarian Monitor
Updates: February 6, 2015
- Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved two laws that are intended to address Iraqi Sunni grievances. These laws will now have to be approved by the parliament. The parliamentary debate will likely be tense and may be delayed due to disagreement over provisions in the law drafts among the different political groups. Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi lifted a 10-year nightly curfew in Baghdad. However, attacks dominated the city and its environs throughout the week.
- Kirkuk was under a serious threat by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). On January 30, ISIS attacked Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga positions around Kirkuk. However, the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga were able to repel the offensive and reclaim areas that ISIS briefly held during the offensive. This offensive was ISIS’s most serious push since June 2014 and it underlines ISIS’s intention to control or sabotage oil infrastructure in Kirkuk.
- In Samarra, ISIS and the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) clashed throughout the week. Samarra is home to the al-Askari shrine which ISIS attacked in 2006, triggering Iraq’s 2006-2007 civil war. ISIS is seeking to force the repositioning of ISF resources by attacking Samarra.
- Violence and falling oil prices continue to have an impact on poverty levels in Iraq and service delivery in southern Iraq which is home for many Internally Displaced (IDP) families
- Reports also indicate that child labor is rising due to displacement and lack of sustained governmental support.
Iraq’s Council of Ministers Approve Two Laws and Prime Minister Abadi lifts Nightly Curfew in Baghdad as City Witnesses Sustained Explosions
On February 3, the Council of Minister approved a draft National Guard Law and approved a set of amendments intended to reform the Accountability and Justice Law, also known as the De-Ba’athification Law. The National Guard Law would create locally-based forces to provide security, empowering local political and tribal leaders to handle security for their own areas. Such a move is welcome among many Iraqi Sunni Arabs who blame the country’s army and national police for a pattern of discrimination and human rights violations in their communities. The proposed reforms to the De-Ba’athification Law are also intended to address Iraqi Sunni Arab grievances, however the amendments failed to gain the support of Sunni Ministers who claimed the reforms did not go far enough. Both draft laws require passage by Iraq’s parliament, the Council of Representatives, where deliberations are expected to be tense and protracted due to disagreement over provisions in the draft laws among the different political groups.
On January 30, two bombs exploded in Baghdad’s Bab al-Sharji market. The attack targeted a section that specializes in selling military clothes and resulted in the death of at least 44 people and injury of 70 people. On January 31, one member of the Iraqi Army was killed and three others were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded near their patrol in the Arab Jubur area south of Baghdad. An IED explosion also killed two civilians in the Madain area south of Baghdad. An IED exploded near a tea shop in the Amin area in eastern Baghdad killing two civilians and injuring ten others.
On February 2, an Adhesive Explosive Device (AED) attack killed a Federal Police (FP) major in the Sulaikh area north of Baghdad. The attack also resulted in the injury of the officer’s son and nephew. On February 2, an IED exploded in the Saydiyah area south of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding six others. On February 3rd, an IED exploded in the Khansa village of the Nahrwan area, east of Baghdad. The attack resulted in killing one person and wounding six others, including three women. Another IED attack in the Talibiyah area, east Baghdad resulted in the death of two people and injury of four. On February 4, a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) resulted in the death of three people and injury of ten others near a restaurant in Baghdad’s Karrada area. Subsequent reports indicated that it may have been three simultaneous IEDs exploded in the attack and that it was not a VBIED.
On February 4, four bodies were found in the Fahama area, north of Baghdad. The victims had been shot and there was evidence of torture. On February 5, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi issued an order to lift the nightly curfew in Baghdad that has in place since 2004. The lifting of the curfew comes as the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) released the casualty number for January. The report stated that 1375 people were killed by violence and that 790 of those killed were civilians. 1469 civilians 771 Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) members were wounded. According to the UNAMI figures, Baghdad witnessed most of the casualties with 256 civilians killed and 758 injured.
Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga Repel Major ISIS Offensive in Kirkuk
On January 31, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga were able to clear the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) from the Mulla Abdullah village in southern Kirkuk. ISIS was able to take control the village on January 30 when it launched a major offensive. During the same offensive, ISIS also captured the Khabaz oilfield in western Kirkuk and subsequently detained 24 employees of the Kirkuk-based North Oil Company.
On February 1, Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces regained control of Khabaz oilfield and freed the 24 employees. However, ISIS set fire to some of the oil wells before it was cleared. On February 2, Iraq’s Minister of Oil Adel Abd al-Mahdi visited Kirkuk and inspected the oil field. Between February 1 and February 3, coalition fighter jets launched airstrikes in support of the Peshmerga operations. On February 2, Kirkuk provincial council member Najat Hussein stated that reinforcements of the Popular Mobilization arrived in Kirkuk in coordination with Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The majority of the Popular Mobilization forces are located on the outskirts of the city.
On February 4, the Secretary General of the Peshmerga Ministry, Jabar Yawer stated that 999 Peshmerga members have been killed and another 4596 have been wounded in the fight against ISIS since early June 2014. Yawer also stated that the Ministry of Peshmerga is also investigating reported recent social media images of Peshmerga forces dragging ISIS members in the streets. Yawer added that a Peshmerga Ministry memorandum was distributed to all units ordering them to treat prisoners humanely.
Situation Escalates in Samarra
On January 30, two suicide bombers wearing Explosive Vests (SVET) targeted a gathering of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) in Samarra in northern Iraq’s Salah ad-Din province. On February 1, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) clashed with ISIS to clear the road stretching between Thar Thar Lake and Samarra, southwest of Samarra.
On February 2, Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) discovered three armored ISIS VBIEDs in the Huwayesh area near Samarra. According to unnamed security sources, the VBIEDs were intended to target the al-Askari Shrine and the Samarra Dam. On February 2, 6 members of the Popular Mobilization forces were killed and another 28 were wounded when a truck VBIED exploded at a checkpoint south of Samarra. This attack was reportedly followed by an ISIS attack on the same location. On February 3, Iraqi Security Forces ISF launched operations to clear ISIS from areas, north of Samarra. On February 5, local security sources stated that ISIS moved chlorine canisters closer to Samarra. According to the source, ISIS likely intends to use them in attacks. On February 4, ISIS “kidnapped” 40 residents in the Sharqat area in northern Salah ad-Din Province. ISIS reportedly “accused” the 40 members of supporting and promoting the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs).
Planning Ministry Report: Ongoing Violence Affecting Economy and Will Likely Raise Poverty Levels
On January 31, the Iraqi Ministry of Planning released a report on poverty levels in Iraq. According to senior Iraqi finance and economic officials, the ongoing violence between the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and the Iraqi government has had adverse economic effects including in possibly rising poverty levels. This is mostly due to internal displacement within the country. According to Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, Rozh Nouri Shawes, previous governments attempted to alleviate poverty in the country but were challenged by “terrorism and financial waste.”
Child Labor Increasing in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sulaimaniyah
On February 1, al-Mada Newspaper reported on the rise of child labor in Sulaimaniyah city in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to the report, child labor includes native people of Sulaimaniyah and has increase recently with the arrival of Internally Displaced Persons. According to the report, a majority of the children work in the Sulaimaniyah market district where they sell bags, candy, and shoe-shining business. Local rights activist Saman Assad stated that “we observe significant spread in child labor in the region particularly after the [arrival] of thousands of Arab families to the region’s cities.” Mohammed Hama Salih, the head of the social affairs office in the province stated that there are not many solutions to child labor. But that according to Social Safety law, the government can offer a working child $120 and in return the child will have promise not to return work.
Karbala Health Services Suffering and IDP Housing Crisis in Babil
On February 2, the Karbala Health Department announced that in light of the current budget crises and the austere 2015 budget prediction, over thirty anonymous doctors have agreed to donate time, money, and personal supplies to support the city and its residents. Furthermore, these doctors will begin exploring the potential to do field treatments far from the city center, where many displaced families live in squalor. On February 4, Riyadh Aday, the Chairman of the Migration Committee in Babil province in south central implored the federal government to release the funds allocated for the construction of IDP housing near Babil’s capital of Hillah. The project is supposed to be built in the Wardiyah area, south of Hilla. Aday added that there are 11,000 registered IDP families and that some areas in Babil refuse to receive IDPs due to lack of housing.
Ahmed Ali is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Education for Peace in Iraq Center. He would like to thank EPIC interns Alec Lynde and Jonathan Fredrickson for their contributions to the research.
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