By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com Amid levels of violence in line with previous weekly averages, movements in the political sphere highlighted the different electoral strategies being followed by the government ahead of the parliamentary elections. On 25 February, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated the importance of maintaining the elections in April, confirming that the current timeframe […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com Amid continued unrest in the outskirts of Fallujah and Ramadi, ISF forces regained control of Sulaiman Pek, Salahuddin province, which was overrun by ISIL militants on 13 February. This outcome contrasts with the situation in Anbar, where a much more complex tribal landscape has prevented a direct assault on urban areas […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com Amid sustained levels of violence, this week was dominated by Muqtada al-Sadr’s withdrawal from politics. The announcement, made on 15 February, comes only two months before parliamentary elections for which Sadr was considered a serious candidate for the office of Prime Minister. While reasons behind his decision remain speculative, Sadr has […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com Political tensions continued to escalate with the killing in Baghdad of Hamza al-Shimmari, a Shia politician running for parliament in the April elections and allied with the Sadrist bloc. On 10 February, Parliament Speaker and probable Presidential candidate Osama al-Nujaifi escaped an assassination attempt after his convoy was hit by a […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com. Amid reports that the Iraqi army is preparing an imminent assault on Fallujah, under control of ISIL militants for over a month, heavy shelling continued to strike key locations in restive Anbar governorate. Whilst the unrest absorbs government resources, political divisions have been increasingly apparent and the authority of Prime Minister […]
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com. Clashes in rural districts of Anbar province and shelling on the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi continued to fuel Iraq’s cycle of violence, whilst over 140,000 civilians have reportedly fled their homes since the outbreak of the crisis in December 2013, in the most important displacement of population since 2006-2008. Although […]
As 2013 came to a close, months of sustained violence and devastating atrocities in Iraq saw a civilian death toll on a par with those recorded in 2008 and more than double the figure for 2012. The deepening of the fault lines splitting the country, the intensifying of the Sunni / Shia violence and the […]
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY SECURITY OVERVIEW Iraqi’s have born the brunt of a particularly violent week in which the key cities of Mosul, Kirkuk and Baghdad have all come under attack from high impact bombings and coordinated well-planned combined arms assaults. In what is now nearing one of the most violent […]
By Tom Walker, Assaye Risk COUNTRY SECURITY OVERVIEW The daily churn of violence notwithstanding it has been a gruesome week in Iraq as insurgents have pressed home a series of devastating attacks combined with a campaign of shock tactics where numerous groups of civilian males have been beheaded across the country. In addition, the focus […]
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW Little has changed in Iraq this week as al Qaeda (AQ) and Sunni insurgent groups have continued to press home a series of devastating attacks across the northern and central belts of the country. The security situation in northern Syria and northern Iraq remains febrile and fluid […]
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW The Ankara dance with Erbil and Baghdad continued for much of this reporting period as Turkey’s President Erdogan continues to tread a fine balance between multiple regional stakeholders in the hope of neutralizing the al Qaeda (AQ) threat in northern Syria and of maximizing to potential of […]
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW The ebb and flow of violence continued in Iraq this week with many religious pilgrims targeted and killed by suicide bombers, predominantly in Baghdad and Nineveh provinces. Kurdish fighters have also continued to secure and fortify their positions in northern Syria and along the Iraqi border having […]
