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Kidnapping of Activist Sparks Protests in Iraq’s Nasiriyah

University students attend a protest against foreign interventions, in Basra, Iraq, January 8, 2020. (Reuters)
University students attend a protest against foreign interventions, in Basra, Iraq, January 8, 2020. (Reuters)
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Kidnapping of Activist Sparks Protests in Iraq’s Nasiriyah

University students attend a protest against foreign interventions, in Basra, Iraq, January 8, 2020. (Reuters)
University students attend a protest against foreign interventions, in Basra, Iraq, January 8, 2020. (Reuters)

The kidnapping of a prominent activist by unknown gunmen sparked protests in Iraq’s southern city of Nasiriyah on Sunday.

One person who was with Sajjad al-Iraqi during his abduction was wounded.

Protesters took to the streets soon after news of the kidnapping broke out. Demonstrators blocked bridges crossing the Euphrates River and closed down the majority of official offices in an effort to pressure local authorities and the police to uncover the whereabouts of Iraqi.

Some protest activists accuse members of the tribe of slain deputy leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, of being behind the abduction.

Al-Muhandis was killed in the American drone strike that eliminated top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad airport in January. Protesters in Nasiriyah had at the time prevented Muhandis’ funeral procession from passing through one of the city’s squares.

They believe that Iraqi’s abduction was in retaliation to their blocking of the procession. Police have not named any suspects in the kidnapping.

Chief of police, Hazem al-Waeli said the security forces are on complete alert to uncover the kidnappers.

Activist Abdulwahhab al-Hamdani said Iraqi was among the most prominent activists in Nasiriyah and is known for his fierce criticism of all Islamic parties.

He revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that he had received several death threats, but that has not deterred his activism.

A hashtag calling for Iraqi’s release trended on social media in Iraq soon after news of his kidnapping broke out. Activists demanded his release and holding the perpetrators to account.

Separately, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced that he was seeking to set up monuments to honor the victims of the popular anti-government protests, which erupted in October 2019.

A monument will be erected at a square in each of the capital Baghdad and Nasiriyah and honor the victims who have struggled to establish a nation, he said.

“History is a memory. We should seek to immortalize our historic events so that they can turn into lessons and productive actions that would establish a new phase. Plight, pain and sacrifices must turn into sources of pride for generations to come,” he added.

Over 500 people have been killed and 25,000 wounded by security forces and unknown gunmen as they violently cracked down on the anti-government protesters, who had taken to the streets since October to condemn rampant corruption, poor living conditions and unemployment in Iraq.

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Arab World

Lebanon Ex-central Bank Chief's Corruption Case Being Dent to Top Court

The BDL headquarters in Beirut (NNA) 
The BDL headquarters in Beirut (NNA) 
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Lebanon Ex-central Bank Chief's Corruption Case Being Dent to Top Court

The BDL headquarters in Beirut (NNA) 
The BDL headquarters in Beirut (NNA) 

The corruption case of Lebanon's former central bank governor, who is widely blamed for the country’s economic meltdown, has been transferred to the country's highest court, judicial officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Riad Salameh was released on $14 million bail in September after a year in prison while awaiting trial in Lebanon on corruption charges, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.

The trial of Salameh, 75, and his two legal associates, Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, will now be heard at the Court of Cassation, according to a copy of the notice obtained by the AP. Salameh and the others will be issued with arrest warrants if they don't show up for trial at the court.

No trial date has been set yet. Salameh denies the charges. The court’s final ruling can't be appealed, according to the four officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.

In September 2024, he was charged with the embezzlement of $42 million, with the court later adding charges of illicit enrichment over an apartment rented in France, supposedly to be a substitute office for the central bank if needed. Officials have said that Salameh had rented from his former romantic partner for about $500,000 annually.

He was once celebrated for steering Lebanon’s economic recovery, after a 15-year civil war, upon starting his long tenure in 1993 and keeping the fragile economy afloat during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.

But in 2023, he left his post after three decades with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Meanwhile, much of the Lebanese blame his policies for sparking a fiscal crisis in late 2019 where depositors lost their savings, and the value of the local currency collapsed.

On top of the inquiry in Lebanon, he is being investigated by a handful of European countries over various corruption charges. In August 2023, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Salameh.

Salameh has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.

Lebanon’s current central bank governor, Karim Souaid, announced last week that he's filing legal complaints against a former central bank governor and former banking official who diverted funds from the bank to what he said were four shell companies in the Cayman Islands. He didn't name either individual.

But Souaid said that Lebanon's central bank would become a plaintiff in the country's investigation into Forry Associates. The US Treasury, upon sanctioning Salameh and his associates, described Forry Associates as “a shell company owned by Raja (Salameh’s brother) in the British Virgin Islands” used to divert about $330 million in transactions related to the central bank.

Several European countries, among them France, Germany, and Luxembourg, have been investigating the matter, freezing bank accounts and assets related to Salameh and his associates, with little to no cooperation from the central bank and Lebanese authorities.

Souaid said that he will travel later this month to Paris to exchange “highly sensitive” information as France continues its inquiries.

Arab World

Over 100 Children Killed in Gaza Since Ceasefire, UNICEF Says

Palestinians walk past tents used by displaced people, during a windy winter day, in Gaza City, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk past tents used by displaced people, during a windy winter day, in Gaza City, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)
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Over 100 Children Killed in Gaza Since Ceasefire, UNICEF Says

Palestinians walk past tents used by displaced people, during a windy winter day, in Gaza City, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians walk past tents used by displaced people, during a windy winter day, in Gaza City, January 13, 2026. (Reuters)

The UN children's agency said on Tuesday that over ​100 children have been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.

“More than 100 children have ‌been killed ‌in Gaza ‌since ⁠the ceasefire ​of ‌early October," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters at a UN briefing by video link from Gaza.

"Survival remains conditional, whilst ⁠the bombings and the shootings ‌have slowed, have ‍reduced during ‍the ceasefire, they have not ‍stopped."

He said that nearly all the deaths of the 60 boys and ​40 girls were from military attacks including air ⁠strikes, drone strikes, tank shelling, gunfire and quadcopters and a few were from war remnants that exploded.

The tally is likely an underestimate since it is only based on deaths for which sufficient ‌information was available, he said.

Arab World

Syrian Army Tells Kurdish Forces to Withdraw from Area East of Aleppo City

Buses carrying displaced residents drive past a building in ruins as they return to the Achrafieh neighborhood after days of fighting between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP)
Buses carrying displaced residents drive past a building in ruins as they return to the Achrafieh neighborhood after days of fighting between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP)
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Syrian Army Tells Kurdish Forces to Withdraw from Area East of Aleppo City

Buses carrying displaced residents drive past a building in ruins as they return to the Achrafieh neighborhood after days of fighting between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP)
Buses carrying displaced residents drive past a building in ruins as they return to the Achrafieh neighborhood after days of fighting between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP)

Syria's army told Kurdish forces on Tuesday to withdraw from an area they control east of Aleppo after dislodging fighters from two neighborhoods in the city in deadly clashes last week.

State television published an army statement with a map declaring a large area a "closed military zone" and said "all armed groups in this area must withdraw to east of the Euphrates" River.

The area begins near Deir Hafer, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Aleppo city and extends to the Euphrates further east, as well as towards the south.

On Monday, Syria accused the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces of sending reinforcements to Deir Hafer and said it sent its own personnel there in response.

The SDF denied any build-up of its forces in the region.

An AFP correspondent saw government forces bringing military reinforcements including artillery to the Deir Hafer area on Tuesday.

On the weekend, Syria's government took full control of Aleppo city after taking over its Kurdish neighborhoods and evacuating fighters there to Kurdish-controlled areas in the country's northeast following days of clashes.

The violence started last Tuesday after negotiations stalled on integrating the Kurds' de facto autonomous administration and forces into the country's new government.

The SDF controls swathes of the country's oil-rich north and northeast, much of which they captured during Syria's civil war and the fight against the ISIS group.