UN Envoy’s Meeting with PMF Members Alarms Baghdad

UN envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. (Reuters)
UN envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. (Reuters)
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UN Envoy’s Meeting with PMF Members Alarms Baghdad

UN envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. (Reuters)
UN envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. (Reuters)

A senior Iraqi official revealed of “illegal” roles played by head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert that coincided with the storming of the Green Zone in Baghdad by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) gunmen on Wednesday.

The gunmen had attempted to storm the heavily fortified Green Zone – home of government buildings and foreign missions - in wake of the arrest of Qasim Muslih, a commander of one of the PMF militias.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, the official said that Hennis-Plasschaert had carried out contacts with military figures, who had previously issued orders to storm the Green Zone to press for Muslih’s release.

The allegations coincided with the envoy appearing in a televised interview in which she did not deny that she had asked an Iraqi official to resign from his post.

Her remarks were understood as a reference to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The anonymous government official told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hennis-Plasschaert had held meetings in recent days without coordinating her moves with the Baghdad government.

She has even met with senior military commanders that are directly connected to the storming of the Green Zone, he added.

He said that the government has demanded that the envoy provide the legal framework on which she based these meetings, significantly since they coincided with events that had threatened the sovereignty of the country.

The UN mission usually refrains from commenting on local political crises and is often keen on avoiding making contentious statements over internal disputes between local parties.

The government official remarked, however, that Baghdad does not believe that the storming of the Green Zone, the base of its most important headquarters, is a simple matter of a dispute between local parties.

Rather the development is a dangerous incident that almost threatened to destabilize the country, he added indignantly.

In recent months, Hennis-Plasschaert had carried out several meetings with officials in the PMF and played a role in striking the truce between the Iraqi armed factions and US troops in October 2020.

The government official revealed that Baghdad had demanded that the envoy clarify whether she had held undisclosed meetings with military figures.

She must clarify whether the UN mission believes that the storming of the Green Zone threatens Iraq’s security or that it understands the motives of the aggressors, he added.

This is not the first time that Hennis-Plasschaert has come under severe criticism by Iraqi officials.

Last year, anti-government protesters vented their rage against her for her perceived weak statements in speaking out against the oppression they have been victim to since the eruption of their movement in October 2019.



UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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UN Says ‘Deliberate’ Choices ‘Systematically’ Depriving Gazans

04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
04 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Nusirat: Displaced Palestinians gather in a charity kitchen to receive aid amid a shortage of food, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (Belal Abu Amer/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

The UN aid chief said Wednesday that recent "horrifying scenes" of Gazans being killed while seeking food aid were the result of "deliberate choices that have systematically deprived" them of essentials to survive.

A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of its facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were "considered combat zones".

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

"The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.

"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive."

He echoed the call by UN chief Antonio Guterres for immediate independent investigations, saying they were not isolated incidents, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.

"No-one should have to risk their life to feed their children," said Fletcher.

The GHF began operations a week ago, but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Meanwhile the United Nations has described the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, after Israel partially lifted a more than two-month total blockade, as a trickle.

"We must be allowed to do our jobs: we have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience," said Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"Open the crossings -- all of them. Let in life-saving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in.

"Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire."