Year after Iraq Vote, UN Urges Dialogue to End Gridlock

Sweets, candy, and dried fruits are displayed outside a shop at the Shorja market in the center of Iraq's capital Baghdad on October 7, 2022. (AFP)
Sweets, candy, and dried fruits are displayed outside a shop at the Shorja market in the center of Iraq's capital Baghdad on October 7, 2022. (AFP)
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Year after Iraq Vote, UN Urges Dialogue to End Gridlock

Sweets, candy, and dried fruits are displayed outside a shop at the Shorja market in the center of Iraq's capital Baghdad on October 7, 2022. (AFP)
Sweets, candy, and dried fruits are displayed outside a shop at the Shorja market in the center of Iraq's capital Baghdad on October 7, 2022. (AFP)

A year after Iraq's last general election, the United Nations mission urged political factions to end the deadlock paralyzing the oil-rich country, warning that "Iraq is running out of time."

"The protracted crisis is breeding further instability ... it threatens people's livelihoods," the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq said, urging "dialogue without preconditions" toward a stable government in the war-scarred nation.

Iraqis last voted on October 10, 2021 in an election triggered by an earlier wave of mass protests against endemic corruption, rampant unemployment and decaying infrastructure.

One year on, the country has yet to form a new government, leaving caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in charge but unable to have parliament pass a new state budget.

The UN said that the vote a year ago "was a hard-earned election, brought about by public pressure from nationwide protests in which several hundreds of young Iraqis lost their lives and thousands were injured."

"Regretfully, this reaffirmation of democracy was followed by divisive politics, generating bitter public disillusion," it added in a statement.

Rival Shiite factions in parliament have been vying for influence and the right to select a new prime minister and government.

The standoff that has seen both sides set up protest camps and at times sparked deadly street clashes.

"All actors must engage in dialogue without preconditions," the UN mission said.

"Through compromise, they must collectively agree on key outcomes... to service the needs of the Iraqi people and establish a fully empowered and effective government. The time to act is now."

'Willingness to compromise'

The political impasse pits powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr, who has demanded snap elections, against the Iran-backed Coordination Framework, which has been pushing to appoint a new head of government before any new polls are held.

Tensions last boiled over on August 29 when more than 30 Sadr supporters were killed in clashes with Iran-backed factions and the army in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, the capital's government and diplomatic district.

The Coordination Framework welcomed the UN statement, saying it was ready "for dialogue with all political actors" to "form a government with full powers".

The French embassy in Iraq has also backed the UN mission's call, urging "all parties" to engage in "true dialogue without preconditions and with sincere willingness to compromise".

Iraq has raked in huge revenues from energy exports this year, and the central bank is holding a colossal $87 billion in foreign exchange reserves.

However, the money remains locked up because Kadhimi is not authorized to submit an annual state budget to parliament in his capacity as caretaker.

The UN mission said it is "imperative" that a budget is adopted before the end of the year.



Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp

 A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
A boy carries bricks as he helps to restore a home in al-Qaryatayn, eastern part of Syria's Homs province, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday.

The Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq.

Desperate people fleeing ISIS extremists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Jordan.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for years.

After an opposition offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return home.

The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was "officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes".

Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that "with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close".

"Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert," he added.

At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. Around 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high prices.

Syrian minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents "the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people".

"We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety," he added.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or abroad.

The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home.