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Issued on: 18/10/2022 - 20:08Modified: 18/10/2022 - 20:06

Beirut (AFP) Syria's autonomous Kurdish region has transferred over 600 relatives of suspected jihadists detained at the notorious Al-Hol camp to Iraq, a war monitor and a Kurdish security source said Tuesday.

"The Iraqi government repatriated 161 families, including 659 people, from Al-Hol camp to Iraq," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Iraqi families left Al-Hol camp, which lies less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Iraqi border for their home country in a move coordinated by with Iraqi authorities, the monitor said.

A Kurdish security source who requested anonymity said that 634 Iraqis had crossed from Al-Hol to their country on Tuesday.

The overcrowded, Kurdish-run camp is home to 55,000 people, and houses thousands of relatives of suspected Islamic State group members.

It is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after IS fighters were dislodged from their last scrap of territory in Syria in 2019.

The UN said more than 100 people have been murdered in the increasingly lawless camp since the start of 2021.

Kurdish forces arrested more than 200 people last month, after a three-week operation against IS supporters there discovered tunnels used by jihadists and seized an arsenal of weapons.

Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens from crowded camps.

But nations have mostly received them only sporadically, fearing security threats and a domestic political backlash.

Iraq should repatriate 500 families in total from Al-Hol this year, state news agency INA reported earlier this year.

2022 AFP

Link:
Hundreds linked to IS transfered from Syria to Iraq - FRANCE 24 English

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The inflation rate in Iraq rose during September 2022 by 0.2 percent, compared to August, and the annual inflation rate rose to 5.3 percent, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.

The official spokesperson for the Ministry of Planning, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, mentioned in a statement that the annual inflation rate increased by 5.3 percent compared to what it was during September 2021.

The monthly change in inflation is caused by an increased rate in the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector by 1.6 percent, against decreased rate in the clothing and shoes sector by 0.7 percent, Al-Hindawi explained.

The inflation rate in the housing sector decreased by one percent as a result of the decrease in water and electricity supplies by 5.1 percent. The inflation rate in fuel decreased by 0.5 percent, Al-Hindawi stated.

Al-Hindawi indicated that home supplies and equipment recorded a 0.2 percent increase, while tobacco maintained its same level as in August.

Al-Hindawi elaborated that other sectors recorded a slight increase in their rates during the month of September. These sectors include the transportation sector which rose by 0.1 percent, the communication sector by 0.2 percent, the entertainment and culture sector by 0.8 percent, the education sector by 0.2 percent, and the restaurants and hotels sector by 0.2 percent.

A recent study made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates that the Iraqi economy is growing by 9.3 percent to be in the first place among the Arab economies by the end of 2022.

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Annual inflation rises to 5.3 percent in Iraq - Iraqi News

It seems like a lifetime ago and in some ways it was. It has been 17 years this week since I was in Iraq with the men and women of Georgias 48th Brigade Combat Team. Even today, it is an experience seared in my brain.

How I ended up there was due to my friend, Bill Stewart, of Brunswick. A former chief of staff to Georgias U.S. Sen. Mack Mattingly, Stewart suggested to a one-time staff member of his that he should invite me to Iraq for a visit. That staff member happened to be the now-Brig. Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver, commander of the 48th BCT.

Much to my surprise, I got an email from Gen. Rodeheaver shortly thereafter and an invitation to come over and see things for myself. Sharing the invitation with some of my media colleagues, I was advised to turn it down. I was told that public information staff would keep tight reins on me and I would see only what they wanted me to see within the Green Zone, a relatively safe area (if there was such a thing) in that war torn region.

That prompted me to email the general back and say in effect if that was the case, I would pass on the opportunity. I did not intend to hang around the pressroom all day and pretend I had witnessed the war. I received assurance from him that I was free to go wherever I wished and without any handlers. Gen. Rodeheaver was true to his word, although I suspect had I pushed the limit too far, he would have changed the rules quickly. Generals can do that kind of thing, you know.

I did see the war up-close and personal and a bit too up-close for comfort. I wangled an invitation to join a convoy of Humvees as they swept through the notorious Triangle of Death so called because of the terrorist activity in the area between the cities of Mahmudiayah, Yusifiyah and Lucafiyah looking for IEDs. That is military jargon for improvised explosive devices, or simply bombs.

We found one. Right under the Humvee in which I was riding. The IED detonated on my side of the vehicle and just behind me. Sparks, smoke and asphalt were everywhere. Had we been going a few seconds slower, or had the bad guys been a little faster on the draw, we might not be having this conversation.

Viewing the scene upon our return from the mission, it was amazing to see how large a crater the bomb had made in the road. I still have the photograph of the incident to remind me that war is real and people do get killed. We were lucky that day and may I never forget it.

The 48th Brigade Combat Team is a part of the Georgia National Guard, a group of citizen-soldiers from across the state who leave jobs and families to serve their country. In this case, in Iraq. Lt. Col. Tom Carden gave me a succinct description of their duties there. What we do is find out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, he said, and then we get rid of the bad guys. Today, Maj. Gen. Carden is Adjutant General of the Georgia Department of Defense.

At the same time they were fighting the omnipresent terrorists, members of the 48th BCT were employing their back-home skills helping construct bridges, repairing dams, installing power lines, running medical clinics and showing the best of us to a people who had known only the brutality of a despicable dictator.

Today, I wonder what has become of this special group of people. I do know that in addition to Gen. Carden, Gen. Stewart Rodeheaver is retired and living in Eatonton. I still correspond with him on occasion. Colonel and later Maj. Gen. John King is Georgias able insurance commissioner, appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp and currently running for a full term in office.

But there are all the others with whom I spent perilous days and nights that I dont know about. They hailed from across our state: Places like Statesboro and Montezuma, Palmetto and Gray, Dublin and Brunswick. Back home they were mechanics, firefighters, schoolteachers, postal workers, doctors, nurses, correctional officers, police officers and the like. Your friends and neighbors.

But for my short stay in Iraq, they were my band of brothers and sisters. Seventeen years later, they are still my heroes. I hope they are well.

Original post:
Remembering a group of heroes in Iraq | Editorial Columns | thebrunswicknews.com - Brunswick News

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture conducted a training workshop on the Event Mobile Application (EMA-i) in Baghdad from 17 to 19 October 2022.

Good quality disease information and reporting is needed in order to understand the disease situation, support decision-making, prevent potential disease incursion and respond quickly. Thus, it is crucial to apply a system at national level to enhance veterinary services capacities in disease reporting from the field to decision-makers and information sharing among stakeholders. For this reason, FAO has developed EMA-i for data collection and to facilitate real-time disease reporting to support veterinary services capacities in disease surveillance implemented in the field.

Using smartphones, animal disease information is collected with the EMA-i application from the field. These data, which are geo-referenced, are entered into the app and safely stored in the FAO Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES) Global Animal Disease Information System (EMPRES-i). Through the financial support of the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the training targeted 32 participants from the veterinary departments of six governorates; Al-Anbar, Al-Muthanna, Basrah, Dohuk, Ninewa and Wasit in addition to Baghdad and Erbil, and representatives from the Ministry of Health as part of the One Health approach. The training aimed to improve animal disease data collection and real-time reporting of animal disease outbreaks from the field to the national level by using the EMA-i application.

Dr. Salah El Hajj Hassan, FAO Representative in Iraq, underlined the importance of this joint collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (KRG) to improve animal health and strengthen health and livelihoods in the region. He added: This training of trainers on the Event Mobile Application (EMA-i) aims at enhancing early warning systems and will ultimately contribute to the reduction of the food and health security threats posed by emerging, transboundary and endemic pathogens.

Veronica Quattrola, FAO Deputy Representative in Iraq stated that: The use of the EMA-i app in other countries has demonstrated major improvements in animal disease reporting and communication between districts and central level. This training on the use of EMA-i technology in Iraq is timely and will strengthen the overall capacity of the livestock and veterinary services in animal diseases, reporting, early warning and surveillance.

Using this technology will improve the quantity and quality of reports allowing for effective and immediate action during the occurrence of a disease outbreak in terms of detection, reporting and response.

Media contact:

Zeineb Marzouk, Communications Specialist, FAO Iraq | Zeineb.Marzouk@fao.org | +96407719966053

Read more:
FAO strengthens Iraq's animal disease surveillance and reporting system capacity through the Event Mobile Application (E MA-i) [EN/AR] - Iraq -...

The Iraq Economic Contact Group (IECG) met today with Iraqi representatives in Washington DC. Representatives from Iraq, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and G7 discussed Iraqs economic challenges and opportunities and the need for significant economic reform.

Despite some progress achieved under the current government in a challenging context, Iraq continues to face daunting medium and long-term economic challenges which are compounded by the negative impacts of climate change - including water scarcity, desertification, drought, and soaring temperatures. The IECG encourages the Government of Iraq to drive forward an ambitious economic reform agenda and take decisive climate action.

Iraqs economic reform and recovery, the consolidation of its democracy, and increasing the participation of women and girls in all aspects of the countrys economic and political life, are all key to promoting stability not only in Iraq but also in the region.

Diversifying the economy and building an inclusive and dynamic private sector to complement the hydrocarbon industry will promote macroeconomic resilience and provide opportunities and livelihoods for the people of Iraq. This will require reforms that improve the business environment, modernise the financial sector, strengthen macroeconomic stability and public financial management, and fight against corruption; catalysing growth and creating the building blocks for the private sector to thrive.

Investing Iraqs oil revenues prudently - through good governance, effective fiscal management, and transparency will be important to rebuilding and climate-proofing infrastructure and improving basic services, creating the foundations for sustainable growth.

The IECG remains committed to supporting the Government of Iraq to tackle Iraqs important economic and social challenges.

Read more:
Joint statement by the Iraq Economic Contact Group - GOV.UK