Iraq’s Nujaba: Suspension of Attacks against US Forces Is ‘Calm before the Storm’

A poster of Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in January. (dpa)
A poster of Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in January. (dpa)
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Iraq’s Nujaba: Suspension of Attacks against US Forces Is ‘Calm before the Storm’

A poster of Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in January. (dpa)
A poster of Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in January. (dpa)

Secretary-General of the Iran-aligned Nujaba movement in Iraq Akram al-Kaabi said on Sunday that the halt of military operations against American bases in the country was the “calm before the storm”.

In a message on the advent of the middle of the hijri month of Shaban, he stressed that the current calm “was only a temporary tactic aimed at redeployment and mobilization.”

“It is the calm before the storm,” he warned.

Moreover, he alleged that certain sides, which he did not name, “have provided the American forces with information about the resistance and their positions.”

“This demanded a redeployment of our forces and a change in battles tactics,” he went on to say.

He pledged that “more surprises” are in store.

“We are keen on protecting the Popular Mobilization Forces from American attacks,” stated Kaabi.

Commenting on the Baghdad government’s negotiations with American forces over their withdrawal from Iraq, he said the “Islamic Resistance” did not reject the talks, but “we assert that the American occupier is a liar, treacherous and arrogant.”

He added that it would be “delusional” to believe that the US would “yield and withdraw from Iraq through negotiations.”

In January, a US strike in Baghdad killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, a leading member of the Nujaba who was involved in planning and carrying out attacks against American personnel in Iraq and Syria.



As Sudan's Army Retakes Ground, Some Displaced Residents Return to Ravaged Capital

Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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As Sudan's Army Retakes Ground, Some Displaced Residents Return to Ravaged Capital

Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

The morning sun cast long shadows as Abdulilah Mohamed, an elderly resident of the Shambat neighborhood in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, returned to his family home after fleeing from civil war.

The streets, now strewn with debris and remnants of conflict, led him to a structure barely standing after two years of fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.

"They left nothing behind, they took everything and destroyed everything," he lamented, referring to the RSF as he stood amid the broken walls of his house and the fragments of his family's belongings.

"I came here specifically to assess the situation and see the life, so that my family doesn't come and get confused about what to do. I came first, and then I can evaluate the situation for them here," he added.

Mohamed is one of millions who once lived in the greater capital area, which includes the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri, and were forced to flee when war broke out in April 2023 amidst a power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a transition to civilian rule.

Entire neighborhoods in Khartoum were flattened, though some parts of Omdurman managed to retain access to utilities, Reuters reported.

Now, as the army pushes back RSF fighters and regains ground in the capital, a cautious trickle of residents is making the journey home.

Huda Ibrahim, who fled to Port Sudan - more than 800 km (500 miles) from the capital—said the longing to return had never faded.

"We were forced to stay away," she said, while on a bus en route to Khartoum.

Mohamed Ali, the driver, noted a shift in mood.

"You can sense that their sense of security has grown,” he told Reuters.

But for many, the road home is lined with uncertainty. This conflict has devastated the nation, claiming countless lives and displacing millions.

"Their war now is not a war against the government, it's a war against the citizens and destruction," Mohamed says.

The return of more residents hinges on the government's ability to rebuild.

Rayan Khaled, a young woman who returned from Egypt, highlights the lack of services and electricity as major obstacles.

"I believe that if the government could provide electricity to the people [...] everyone would return to their homes," she said.