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A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 27 december 2019
Iraq president rejects Iran-backed prime minister nominee

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA the statement, the presi-
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's dent left Baghdad for his
president refused on Thurs- hometown in the northern
day to designate a prime city of Sulaimaniyah.
minister candidate nomi- Under the constitution, par-
nated by the Iran-backed liament has seven days to
parliamentary bloc, plung- accept or reject a presi-
ing the country into further dent's resignation before
political uncertainty amid it automatically goes into
nearly three months of un- effect. It was unclear how
precedented mass pro- lawmakers would react, as
tests. Saleh did not officially re-
President Barham Saleh sign.
said in a statement issued In Baghdad's Tahrir Square,
by his office that he would which has emerged as a
not name the governor of focal point of their demon-
the southern Basra prov- strations, protesters gath-
ince, Asaad al-Eidani, as ered to celebrate the presi-
the country's next prime dent's decision.
minister "to avoid more "This is a victory for the
bloodshed and in order to demonstrators and a victo-
safeguard civil peace." ry for the blood of the mar-
Al-Eidani's name was pro- A protester hits a poster with a defaced picture of Asaad al-Eidani, Iran-backed parliamentary tyrs," said activist Hassanein
posed on Wednesday by bloc's nominee for the post of the prime minister and Arabic that reads "rejected by the people," Gharib. "Because of street
the Fatah bloc, which in- with a shoe during anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. pressure, the candidate of
cludes leaders associated Associated Press the (political) parties was
with the Iran-supported rejected, and we will not
paramilitary Popular Mo- entire political class over gas and live ammunition. his refusal to designate al- accept and we will not
bilization Forces. His nomi- corruption and misman- Concentrated in Baghdad Eidani could be construed return to our homes if the
nation was promptly re- agement. The mass upris- and the mostly Shiite-in- as a violation of the con- party candidate is nomi-
jected by Iraqi protesters ings prompted the resigna- habited south, the protests stitution. He stopped short nated."
who poured into the streets tion of former Prime Minister have since evolved into an of actually stepping down, A leading politician and
Wednesday demanding Adel Abdul-Mahdi late last uprising against Iran's politi- however, saying in a state- former government offi-
an independent candi- month. More than 450 peo- cal and military influence in ment addressed to the Par- cial familiar with the latest
date. ple have been killed since the country. liament speaker that he developments said they
Demonstrators first took to October, the vast major- Saleh said he w as pre- would leave it up to law- presented a "real crisis that
the streets on Oct. 1 to call ity of them protesters killed pared to submit his resig- makers to decide "as they may lead to the collapse of
for the overthrow of Iraq's by security forces firing tear nation to Parliament, as see fit." Shortly after issuing the state." q
Relief group: 216,000 have fled homes

in northwest Syria

captured more than 40
villages and hamlets, ac-
cording to the Syrian army
and opposition activists.
The Syrian Response Co-
ordination Group, a relief
group active in northwest-
ern Syria, said 216,632 peo-
ple have fled their homes,
many of them with no spe-
cific place to go. Many
have been heading to-
ward the Turkish border for
safety.
Truckloads of civilians flee a Syrian military offensive in Idlib
province on the main road near Hazano, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. The group said people fled
24, 2019. from about 250 villages
Associated Press and towns, adding that 252
civilians, including 79 chil-
BEIRUT (AP) — More than Government forces have dren have been killed as a
200,000 men, women and been bombarding south- result of the violence.
children fled their homes ern and eastern Idlib prov- Before the ground offen-
in northwest Syria in buses, ince, the last rebel strong- sive began last Thursday,
trucks and cars in recent hold in the war-torn coun- the U.N. reported that
weeks, amid intense air try, since late November. some 60,000 Idlib residents
and ground bombardment A ground offensive that had already been dis-
by government forces, began last week has dis- placed since the govern-
a Syrian relief group said placed more people and ment's bombing campaign
Wednesday. government forces have began late last month. q