Two Wounded in Attack on Office of Iraqi Parliamentary Candidate

People walk past electoral billboards on a street in Baghdad on October 14, 2025, ahead of parliamentary elections on November 11. (AFP)
People walk past electoral billboards on a street in Baghdad on October 14, 2025, ahead of parliamentary elections on November 11. (AFP)
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Two Wounded in Attack on Office of Iraqi Parliamentary Candidate

People walk past electoral billboards on a street in Baghdad on October 14, 2025, ahead of parliamentary elections on November 11. (AFP)
People walk past electoral billboards on a street in Baghdad on October 14, 2025, ahead of parliamentary elections on November 11. (AFP)

Armed gunmen opened fire early Saturday on the office of an Iraqi parliamentary candidate south of Baghdad, wounding two bodyguards, a security source said.

The attack on Sunni politician Muthanna al-Azzawi's office comes days after a bomb killed another candidate in the November 11 elections.

The gunmen fled after the attack in Yusufiyah, 25 kilometers (16 miles) south of the capital, the source told AFP.

Azzawi is a member of the Baghdad provincial council and belongs to the "Azm Alliance", a centrist Sunni coalition led by Muthanna al-Samarrai.

The candidate "firmly condemned the cowardly attack", saying: "These acts will not stop us from continuing to serve our people."

"The attackers will be punished for their actions sooner or later," Azzawi added on his Facebook page.

A bomb killed fellow Baghdad provincial council member and election candidate Safaa al-Mashhadani on Wednesday when it exploded under his car north of the city.

It also wounded three of his bodyguards.

Mashhadani was running with the Sovereignty Alliance, one of Iraq's largest Sunni coalitions, led by businessman Khamis al-Khanjar and parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.

The coalition condemned the "cowardly crime", calling it "an extension of the approach of exclusion, targeting and treachery pursued by the forces of uncontrolled weapons and terrorism, all of which seek to silence free national voices".

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an investigation into the attack on Mashhadani and called for the perpetrators' arrests.

The majority of Iraq's 329 lawmakers represent Shiite parties aligned with neighboring Iran.

The upcoming elections are the sixth since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which toppled longtime ruler Saddam Hussein.

In Iraq, the role of prime minister traditionally goes to a Shiite and the presidency to a Kurd, while the speaker of parliament is usually Sunni.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.