Monday, December 19, 2016

Iraq snapshot

Monday, December 19, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, the slog in Mosul continues, Reporters Without Borders notes the deaths of 2016 and much more.


Iraq -- the war that never ends.  March will mark 14 years of war.

Or at least this round.



  1.  Dec 16
    So 2 divert the attention from next session, decided 2 attack by massive missiles in operation
    1 reply11 retweets3 likes
     
     
     
  2.  Dec 16
    1998, President Clinton announced military strikes against Iraq.
    4 retweets2 likes
     
     
     


Yep, last week was the anniversary of Bill Clinton bombing Iraq.

The US government has been destroying the people of Iraq for years.

Always to 'help.'

Currently, US President Barack Obama 'helps' by dropping bombs on Iraq daily.  He's been helping like that since August 2014.


He's also helped by backing Shi'ite miliiats and their War Crimes as they 'liberate' cities in Iraq like Mosul currently and Falluja more recently.







 15 hours ago
More than five months after was liberated from ,none of its 350,000 residents has returned home.

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What a 'success' story.

Wonder what the Iraq exhibit will look like at the Obama presidential museum?

Maybe they can offer a multi-media exhibit?


If so, they should include some video.



  2.  53 minutes ago
    Iraqi Sunni civilian Burning to death brutally by Iraqi army in
    4 replies70 retweets20 likes
     
     
     



It's day 63 of the Mosul slog.

And there's no end in sight.

Missy Ryan and Mustafa Salim (WASHINGTON POST) report, "Doctors in an array of medical facilities around Mosul -- including military run field clinics and mobile treatment centers -- are struggling to keep up with demand as the offensive against the Islamic State grinds on."


 
 5 hours ago
Hungry, Thirsty and Bloodied in Battle to Retake Mosul From ISIS
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Awara Hamid (NIQASH) speaks with the commander of the Golden Division forces, Major General Fadhil Jalil Barwari:

 NIQASH: Can you tell us a little more about who is fighting in Mosul and where?
Barwari: In addition to our own Golden Division forces, there are the 15th, the 9th and the 16th Divisions fighting – but many haven’t yet entered the city. Some of them got to the city entrances but they haven’t come in. Our own forces – three brigades - are being assisted by other counter-terrorism troops and we are really fighting an urban war, street by street.
NIQASH: And how do you find working with the international coalition, formed to fight the IS group?
Barwari: Our relationship with the international coalition is a very good one. There is a very high level of coordination between us. But the artillery and planes cannot bomb areas inside Mosul because many people have stayed in their houses.
NIQASH: Being Kurdish yourself, how would you describe the relationship between your forces and the Iraqi Kurdish military, also known as the Peshmerga?
Barwari: The agreement that the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga came to was excellent. It’s the first time the two forces have fought together and it really works. It’s a very positive step.
NIQASH: So, when do you expect Mosul to be completely free and clear of the extremists?
Barwari: It’s not possible to put a date on this. We are advancing slowly, to try and keep civilians safe. And we want to maintain the Golden Division’s reputation; we don’t want anyone to suffer because of us.





 2 minutes ago
2 army commandos killed in eastern blast
 
 
 



Reporters Without Borders notes at the top of their webiste:

Since January 2016 :

Here, we call it 75 journalists.

Somehow, they end up with 74 journalists killed this year and they note in (PDF format warning) "ROUND-UP 2016 of journalists killed worldwide:"

A total of 74 journalists were murdered or killed in connection with their work in 2016, compared with 101 last year.  This significant fall is due in part to the fact that more and more journalists are fleeing countries that have become too dangerous: not only Syria, Iraq, and Libya, but also Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Burundi, which have now also become, to varying degrees, news and information black holes where impunity reigns.

The five deadliest countries were Syria (19 killed), Afghanistan (10 killed), Mexico (9 killed), Iraq (7 killed) and Yemen (5 killed).

From the report:

 Targeted by Islamic State in the Iraqi city of Mosul
Journalists have been risking their lives again to cover the military offensive launched in mid-October with the aim of recovering Mosul, a city in northern Iraq that has been under Islamic State control since June 2014.  Embedded with Iraqi government forces and Kurdish units, reporters, cameramen, photographers and other media personnel have been targeted by Islamic State's snipers and suicide bombers. Ali Raysan, 33, a cameraman with Iraq's Al-Sumaria TV, was killed by an IS sniper while filming fighting near Al-Shura, a village south of Mosul, on 22 October.  The day before, Ahmed Hajer Oglu, 30, a reporter for Turkmeneli TV, was fatally shot by an IS sniper while covering clashes between Peshmerga forces and IS fighters in the city of Kirkuk (170 km southeast of Mosul), where IS launched a counter-offensive.  At least 14 journalists were wounded during the first week of the offensive.



Lastly, a topic we'll note more later this week . . .





 6 hours ago
In the past 13 years the Christian population in Iraq has gone from approx 1.6 million to less than 150,000.
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