Baghdad Money Fails to Stifle Southern Anti-Corruption Protesters

Demonstration against corruption and poor services in Tahrir Square in Baghdad (AP)
Demonstration against corruption and poor services in Tahrir Square in Baghdad (AP)
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Baghdad Money Fails to Stifle Southern Anti-Corruption Protesters

Demonstration against corruption and poor services in Tahrir Square in Baghdad (AP)
Demonstration against corruption and poor services in Tahrir Square in Baghdad (AP)

Civil rights protests continued marching across Southern Iraq despite the outgoing Iraqi government's Thursday announcement on disbursing funds promised by Prime Minister Haider Abadi to central and southern provinces.

Demonstrations went on with protests against corruption and poor services in each of Basra, Maysan, Muthanna, Dhi Qar governorates and even the capital Baghdad.

While Iraq’s Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the supreme religious authority in Iraq, encouraged public riots as the only mean of obtaining rights, another Shiite cleric Ayatollah Bashir al-Najafi (one of the top four Najaf references alongside Sistani) urged calm and delaying demands to establish the oil-rich Basra province as an autonomous region.

Najafi’s representative Ahmad al-Safi, during a Friday sermon in Karbala, reiterated the right to protest in demand of rights.

Validating protests, Safi said that any Iraqi has every right to be angered by disrupted life affairs so long that protests are remain restrained and peaceful.

“When a person is exposed to anything that provokes his anger, such as a social problem, economic, political or military, and he decides to take it outside to face and protest it under a controlled manner, then such anger is praiseworthy,” Safi said.

“There are positive effects to anger,” he added.

On the other hand, Salah al-Din residents’ demand for the complete withdrawal of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) factions grew intensively after Khazraj tribal leaders, known as sheikhs or elders, were kidnapped and killed by gunmen who were reported to belong to Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq.

Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, a PMF offshoot, denied its responsibility despite incoming reports.

Salah al-Din’s provincial council joined in the demand and called for “the removal of all armed factions from the province.”

The council also joined popular demands and called on the central government to “intervene and withdraw all paramilitary factions under the banner of the PMF to avoid further problems and clashes.”

Ahmed al-Jubouri, a renowned local politician, was asked to play a role in realizing a PMF exit.



Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: US Pressing Hard to Secure Gaza Truce Deal

A Palestinian boy searches through garbage in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza on Monday (AFP)
A Palestinian boy searches through garbage in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza on Monday (AFP)
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: US Pressing Hard to Secure Gaza Truce Deal

A Palestinian boy searches through garbage in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza on Monday (AFP)
A Palestinian boy searches through garbage in Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza on Monday (AFP)

Hamas sources have described the ongoing indirect negotiations with Israel in Doha as “more serious” than previous rounds, when they said both Israel and the United States lacked genuine commitment.

One Hamas figure told Asharq Al-Awsat that while it remains difficult to predict the outcome, “there is cautious optimism about a possible breakthrough, especially given the clear American pressure aimed at reaching an agreement soon.”

The talks, which began Sunday evening in the Qatari capital, focus on a potential two-month ceasefire that would halt military operations and secure the release of hostages from Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has traveled to Washington for meetings with US President Donald Trump.

According to the sources, negotiations have not stalled and are expected to continue for several days. “At least for now, they cannot be described as negative,” one official said. “Mediators are making serious efforts to achieve progress and conclude a deal as quickly as possible.”

If talks continue positively, the sources said an announcement could come as early as Thursday. But they stressed that any breakthrough depends primarily on Israel’s willingness to accept key Palestinian demands, particularly the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid, a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and guarantees that the war will end definitively.

The sources declined to specify any obstacles currently impeding talks, preferring to “wait for the outcome in the coming hours or days.”

Hamas negotiators, they said, remain committed to “securing the Palestinian demands submitted as amendments to the latest US proposal drafted by envoy Steve Witkoff.”

“These conditions are essential for a fair ceasefire that gives the people of Gaza hope the war will truly end,” the official added, “and prevents Israel from resuming attacks under any pretext as long as negotiations continue.”

The diplomatic efforts coincide with continued Israeli military escalation in Gaza, where intensive airstrikes have struck apartment blocks, shelters, and aid distribution points. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll has risen to 57,523 since the war began on October 7, 2023.

Israeli ground forces have expanded operations in northern, southern, and western Khan Yunis, advancing further into Gaza City’s Shuja’iyya and Tuffah neighborhoods. In the south, the military is pushing into the Zeitoun district, edging closer to Gaza’s Old City and the Latin Convent, which houses thousands of displaced civilians.

Israel reportedly aims to widen a buffer zone inside Gaza by over a kilometer - an issue it also tried to cement in January’s ceasefire agreement. Hamas is insisting this time on a clear, staged Israeli withdrawal, with agreed timelines and maps, while Israel appears determined to retain positions near the border fence and along the Philadelphi Corridor with Egypt.

Trump said Sunday there was “a good chance” for a Gaza ceasefire agreement “this week” before meeting Netanyahu in Washington. He added the US is also working with Israel on several issues, perhaps including a permanent deal with Iran.

Netanyahu arrived in the US on Monday for talks with Trump, envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.