Iraq eyes drawdown of US-led forces starting September, sources say

Baghdad, Iraq Reuters Iraq wants troops from a US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition’s work by September, 2025, four Iraqi sources said, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity. The Iraqi position is being discussed with US officials in Washington this […]
Up to a million people “disappeared” in Iraq in last half century – UN

Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Up to a million people have been “disappeared” in Iraq during a tumultuous last half century spanning the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein, US-led military occupation and the rise of Islamic State militants, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq, which has one of the […]
Saddam’s rusting yacht serves as picnic spot for Iraqi fishermen

Basra, Iraq Reuters Capsized in a river in southern Iraq, the rusting wreck of a yacht that belonged to Saddam Hussein serves as a stark reminder of his iron-fisted rule that ended with the US-led invasion two decades ago. The 121-metre al-Mansur, a symbol of Saddam’s wealth and power when it was built in the […]
Confronting the past: Two decades after Saddam’s fall, Iraqis still haunted by disappearances

CHARLOTTE BRUNEAU, of Reuters, reports from Iraq, a country which has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world…
“Every victim of Saddam Hussein was waiting for this moment”

Baghdad, Iraq Reuters Saddam Hussein’s trial in 2005, two years after he was ousted by a US-led invasion, was a chance for Ali Hassan al-Haidari to avenge the execution of his brothers and others from his village who were killed by the Iraqi dictator’s security forces. Ali Hassan al-Haidari, who testified against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein […]
Postcards: Iraq’s Assyrian Christians – persecution and resurgence

ZARA SARVARIAN, in an article first published by World Watch Monitor, reports from Qaraqosh in Iraq where Assyrian Christians are rebuilding their lives…