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Macron Visits ISIS Former Stronghold in Iraq’s Mosul

Macron visits the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, accompanied by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (AFP)
Macron visits the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, accompanied by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (AFP)
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Macron Visits ISIS Former Stronghold in Iraq’s Mosul

Macron visits the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, accompanied by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (AFP)
Macron visits the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, accompanied by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday visited the ISIS group’s former Iraqi stronghold Mosul, a day after vowing to keep troops in the country.

In a speech at the devastated city’s Church of Our Lady of the Hour, which the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO is working to restore, Macron urged Iraq’s religious communities to “work together” to rebuild the country.

“We will bring back a (French) consulate and schools,” he pledged, while criticizing the pace of reconstruction in Mosul, where ISIS fought its last urban battle, as “too slow”.

The city was recaptured from ISIS in 2017 after three years.

Macron made the commitment for France to stay put in Iraq during a regional summit in Baghdad largely devoted to the fight against terrorism and the impact of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan as the US withdraws.

“No matter what choices the Americans make, we will maintain our presence in Iraq to fight against terrorism,” he told a news conference on Saturday.

His visit to Mosul, a melting pot of Iraq’s diverse ethnic and religious communities, symbolized France’s support for Christians in the Middle East.

France, which finances French-speaking Christian schools in the region, aims to highlight the plight of Christians in the Middle East, as well as other minorities.

“This message is civilizational but also geopolitical. There will be no balance in Iraq if there is no respect for these communities,” the French president said ahead of his visit.

Macron also made a stop at the site of Mosul’s Al-Nuri mosque, where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had declared the establishment of a so-called “caliphate” in 2014.

ISIS blew up the famed 12th century mosque in June 2017 as Iraqi forces closed in on the extremists in Mosul’s Old City.

UNESCO is now organizing a vast project to rebuild it almost identically, with its famed leaning minaret.

The mosque and church are part of three reconstruction projects led by UNESCO and funded by the United Arab Emirates to the tune of $50 million.

The initiative, called “Reviving the Spirit of Mosul”, the largest in the organization’s history, includes plans to rebuild Ottoman-style heritage houses as part of a European-funded project.

The French president on Friday visited the Shiite Muslim shrine of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad district of Kadhimiya, accompanied by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

It was the first such visit for a French president, he said.

Macron will also meet with young Iraqis, including entrepreneurs and students, at the University of Mosul.

He will later Sunday visit Erbil, capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

After a visit to French special forces at Camp Grenier, he will hold talks with Kurdish President Netchirvan Barzani, as well as his predecessor, Masoud Barzani.

“I look forward to discuss bilateral ties, Iraqi elections and other pressing issues with President Macron. I remain grateful for France´s continued support to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” the Iraqi Kurdish president tweeted.

Macron will also meet the family of a Peshmerga fighter killed by ISIS, to pay tribute to the Kurdish contribution to the fight against the extremists.

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Arab World

Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
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Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to kick off parliamentary consultations to form a new government.

He assured that it will “not exclude anyone”, but seek “unity and partnership.”

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that President Joseph Aoun is leading efforts to avert a Shiite boycott of the new government after the “Shiite duo” of the Hezbollah and Amal movement, which is led by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, refrained from naming Salam for the position of PM during Monday’s consultations.

Their abstention has raised fears that the new government will not be constitutional without the representation of the largest Shiite parties in the country.

Reports have said that the duo may boycott the parliamentary consultations to form a government that Salam will hold on Wednesday.

Sources said the duo may skip the first day of talks, which will conclude on Thursday, to demonstrate its “annoyance” with the developments.

Berri, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “situation is not that negative”. He did not elaborate on the duo’s next steps.

Moreover, Asharq Al-Awsat learned that French President Macron had even intervened to avoid a dispute over the government, holding telephone talks with Aoun and Berri.

Salam’s appointment as prime minister came as a major shock given the large number of votes he won from the parliamentary blocs, compared to his predecessor Najib Mikati and against the will of the Shiite duo. In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister.

Aoun stressed the need to “avoid placing obstacles in the government formation process.”

Aoun held a meeting with Salam at the presidential palace on Tuesday before later being joined by Berri, who left the palace without making a statement.

After the talks, Salam spoke before reporters to express his gratitude to parliament and the people for entrusting him with the “difficult task of serving Lebanon” and “achieving the people’s dreams.”

“It is time to open a new chapter that is rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunity, so that Lebanon can be a nation of free people who are equal under their rights,” he added.

On the possible boycott of the Shiite duo, he said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. “This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone,” he added.

The formation of a government in Lebanon often takes months due to political wrangling.

Aoun said on Tuesday that Lebanon has a “very major opportunity that we should all seize.”

He received a delegation from the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council.

“Obstacles must not be placed in the formation process,” he urged. “We must send positive signals to the international community that Lebanon can govern itself, carry out reconstruction transparently and build the state that we are all calling for.”

“If one segment of Lebanon is broken, then the whole country will break,” he stressed, saying Monday’s consultations to appoint Salam were a democratic process and that the public interest remains the top priority.

Aoun, who was elected last week, added that he has declined visits from well-wishers over his election “out of respect for the martyrs” who were killed during Israel’s war on Lebanon, which ended with a ceasefire in November.