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Sudani: Problems of Iraqi Society Have Economic Roots

Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa Al-Sudani addressing the conference on Wednesday (Facebook)
Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa Al-Sudani addressing the conference on Wednesday (Facebook)
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Sudani: Problems of Iraqi Society Have Economic Roots

Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa Al-Sudani addressing the conference on Wednesday (Facebook)
Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa Al-Sudani addressing the conference on Wednesday (Facebook)

As the Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced that the country’s population has reached 43 million, Prime Minister Mohammad Shiaa Al-Sudani stressed that most of the challenges and problems facing Iraqi society have economic roots.

Addressing the conference on reforming the tax system in Iraq on Wednesday, Sudani said: “Today’s tax reform... represents an important message to local and foreign investors, companies, and international organizations that this government is serious about restoring the business environment, reforming systems and legislation, and rehabilitating the institutional building to make them more attractive to investment, production, and employment.”

The Iraqi prime minister revealed that that total imports for 2022, according to data from the International Trade Center, amounted to $42 billion, while data obtained by the Central Bureau of Statistics pointed to $16 billion.

“This means that about $26 billion were not subject to duties... We have to imagine the amount of waste in financial revenues, which has disastrous effects on various industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors... These businesses will stop, and we will not be able to proceed with development projects,” he warned.

According to Sudani, the government’s priority is to address economic problems by fighting corruption and implementing tax reforms, as well as encouraging investments.

The head of the committee in charge of the Tax System Reform Conference, Ali Razouki, stressed that the committee seeks to enhance works towards the achievement of the country’s economic, financial, social, political and development goals.

“Since the first day of its birth, the government has been keen to address issues that affect the lives of citizens, including economic reforms,” he said.

As the government is trying to resolve the economic and social problems facing the country, recent figures show that Iraq is witnessing a remarkable population growth.

In the latest census for 2023, the Ministry of Planning announced that the Iraqi population has reached 43 million people.

The ministry’s official spokesman, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, added in a statement that Baghdad was the most populous city, encompassing around 9 million people.

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.