Wednesday, May 23, 2007
INM daily summary – 23 May 2007
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- A report released recently by Refugees International calls the flight of Iraqis from war-torn areas for regions of greater security within Iraq "the world's fastest growing displacement crisis."
- Iraqi police found the body of a man who was wearing what appeared to be a U.S. military uniform and had a tattoo on his left hand floating in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad on Wednesday morning.
- An Iraqi parliamentary committee has failed to finalise an agreement on amending key articles in the constitution.
- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned Tuesday that Iraq's fight against terror will be "open-ended and long" and called for the creation of "salvation councils" across the country to bring together Iraqis to fight al-Qaida militants.
- From hiding, possibly in Iran, U.S. nemesis and radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is believed to be honing plans to sweep into the power vacuum made all the more intense by news that his chief Shiite rival has lung cancer.
- The provincial authorities in Amara have signed a contract for the construction of a tourist town with the aim of turning this southern city reputed for its marshes and ancient Mesopotamian sites into a tourist attraction.
- During a meeting of the Iraqi List in Jordan, Allawi demanded that his list’s members make the decision to withdraw from Al Maliki’s government promising them that there will be large regional support in many sectors.
- The Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation said that about nine million Iraqis are living under the poverty line according to a sociological survey conducted by the Central Body for Statistics.
- The Turkish forces are now next to the Iraqi border and there are some special units that have already entered 5 km into Iraq near Dahuk.
- Iraq agreed to increase oil exports directly to Iran via a new pipeline in the south, though export capacity in the north remains stuck.
- The Islamic State of Iraq claimed the attempted assassination of former deputy Iraqi Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi.
- Security round-up.
- Vice President Tariq Al Hashimi said, “Iraq will participate in the meeting which will be held between the US and Iran at the end of this month in Baghdad.”
