On the 27th day of the war on Gaza, something started to happen in Baghdad. The Popular Mobilization Forces began to show footage of an “emergency” meeting that was held in wake of the battles between the Israelis and Palestinian Hamas movement. The meeting was attended by the majority of the main leaders of the Iraqi armed factions. Chief of Staff Abdulaziz al-Mohammedawi, known as Abou Fadak, warned of an impending war in the region.
ISHM: January 7 - January 14, 2021
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Key Takeaways:
U.S. Sanctions Senior Militia Figures; Deadly Clashes Erupt During Nasiriyah Protests; New Kurdish Faction Formed In Parliament – On January 8, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Popular Mobilization Committee Chairman Falih al-Fayyadh over human rights violations. Then on January 13, the U.S. State Department added Kataib Hezbollah commander Abdulaziz al-Mohammedawi (aka Abu Fadak) to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. On January 8, Demonstrators gathered at Haboubi Square in Nasiriyah to demand the release of detained civil society activists. Subsequent clashes killed one police officer and injured 111 people, amid reports that Army soldiers intervened to defend the protesters. Moqtada al-Sadr blamed protesters and sympathetic Army personnel for the violence. On January 9, the Iraqi Parliament finished the first reading of the draft budget bill for 2021. On January 11, a group of 15 Kurdish members