Bani Tamim Tribesmen Shut Down Police Stations, Govt Departments in Eastern Iraq

Protesters from the Bani Tamim tribe have shut down government centers on Tuesday night. (X)
Protesters from the Bani Tamim tribe have shut down government centers on Tuesday night. (X)
TT
20

Bani Tamim Tribesmen Shut Down Police Stations, Govt Departments in Eastern Iraq

Protesters from the Bani Tamim tribe have shut down government centers on Tuesday night. (X)
Protesters from the Bani Tamim tribe have shut down government centers on Tuesday night. (X)

Despite the Diyala Provincial Council’s vote on its local government, the sharp polarization among the political blocs in Iraq, which secured seats in the council, remains unresolved.
Dozens of protesters from the Bani Tamim tribe disrupted government operations in the Diyala governorate on Tuesday, shutting down several offices in al-Muqdadiyah district to demand a tribal member be appointed governor.
The demonstrators, angered by the appointment of another candidate, blocked the local police station and other government buildings.
Last Thursday, the Diyala Governorate Council decided on local government positions, about 8 months after the local elections in December. Political differences and intense competition for positions among the winning blocs had prevented reaching an agreement, despite ongoing meetings held by the Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani with representatives of the blocs.
The Diyala Council is divided into two groups: the first is trying to renew the term of former governor Muthanna al-Tamimi, and includes 8 members from Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. The other is made up of seven members of Sunnis and Shiites who object to al-Tamimi’s renewal.
The position of governor was given to Adnan Al-Jayer Al-Shammari from the Al-Bashair movement, which is part of the State of Law coalition. The position of Chairman of the Governorate Council went to Omar Al-Karawi from the Sovereignty Coalition, while Hessa Al-Tamimi from Asaib Ahl Al-Haq was given the post of vice-chairman of the council.
This distribution of posts led to the exclusion of the former governor, Muthanna Al-Tamimi, despite him winning the largest number of votes (40,000 votes) and his list, the Diyala National Alliance, winning the highest number of seats (4 seats), which angered the Bani Tamim tribe and the groups supporting the former governor.
Meanwhile, press sources spoke of a decision to dismiss a senior officer in light of the events in Diyala. The sources stated that exemption orders were issued by the Ministry of Interior to an officer with the rank of brigadier general who was in charge in the city of al-Muqdadiya, where Tuesday’s riots occurred.
 

 



Syria: Nearly 300 Arrested in Crackdown on Assad Loyalists

This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)
TT
20

Syria: Nearly 300 Arrested in Crackdown on Assad Loyalists

This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial picture shows fighters affiliated with Syria’s new administration gathering at Abbasid Square in the eastern part of the capital Damascus for a military parade on December 27, 2024. (AFP)

Syria’s new authorities have arrested in less than a week nearly 300 people, including informants, pro-regime fighters and former soldiers, in a crackdown on loyalists to ousted former president Bashar Assad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the official Syrian news agency, SANA, reported arrests last Thursday and Saturday targeting “Assad militia members” in Hama and Latakia provinces, where weapons and ammunition were seized. It did not provide any figures.

“In less than a week, nearly 300 people have been detained in Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in Homs, Hama, Tartus, Latakia and even Deir Ezzor,” said Rami Abdel-Rahman, head of SOHR.

Among those arrested were former regime informants, pro-Iranian fighters and lower-ranking military officers accused of killings and torture, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

He said some individuals, found to have been involved in sending reports to the former regime, “were arrested and instantly executed.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Abdel-Rahman added.

He was referring to social media videos showing armed men abusing detainees and even carrying out summary executions.

The security forces of the new administration launched a large-scale operation on Thursday against Assad's militias in the suburbs of Damascus and in Latakia, Tartus and Homs.

Abdel-Rahman said that “the campaign is ongoing, but no prominent figures have been arrested” except for General Mohammed Kanjo Hassan, the former head of military justice under al-Assad, who reportedly oversaw thousands of death sentences following summary trials at Saydnaya prison.

The arrests were reportedly taking place “with the cooperation of local populations,” Abdel-Rahman added.

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led a coalition of opposition groups that entered Damascus on December 8 after a rapid offensive, forcing Assad to flee to Russia.

The move marked an end to over 50 years of the Assad family rule in Syria.

Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch urged the armed factions to treat all individuals, including captured fighters and former members of the Assad government and security forces, humanely and in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law standards.

Anas Khattab, the new head of General Intelligence, has pledged to overhaul the security apparatus, denouncing “the injustice and tyranny of the former regime, whose agencies sowed corruption and inflicted suffering on the people.”