Baghdad
- The scene does not seem strange to the Iraqis, as the weapon of "assassinations" has always been the last solution resorted to by armed factions after 2003, as the street expects to go towards the "red square", against the background of the continued rejection of effective political blocs by the results of the parliamentary elections that took place in Baghdad. The tenth of last October.
Events are accelerating in Iraq, with anticipation for the announcement of the final results of the elections, as political forces with armed arms continue their sit-in for the fourth week in central Baghdad and their protests against the preliminary results of the legislative elections.
Baglan ruled out Iraq's return to the series of assassinations (communication sites)
temporary disqualification
It is unlikely that the series of assassinations will return to the Iraqi street in the coming period, this is what a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Imad Baglan, tended to, during his talk to Al-Jazeera Net.
Baglan says that the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ismail Qaani, visited Iraq hours after the attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi on the seventh of this month, "where he reprimanded the political blocs and parties that support the armed factions for the attempt to assassinate the latter."
Baglan believed that the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq at this time, which precedes the formation of the new government, is confusing all political parties on the one hand, and the street on the other.
The vicinity of the Green Zone - which includes most state institutions, Al-Kazemi's residence, the US embassy and many foreign embassies - has witnessed demonstrations and sit-ins for more than 4 weeks for supporters of parties that lost, according to the preliminary results of the Iraqi legislative elections that took place on the tenth of last month, most of which are parties affiliated with them. Armed factions, to express their rejection of the results of the parliamentary elections and demand that they be recounted manually or that the elections be re-run as a whole.
Al-Nasser warned against returning to relying on assassinations to liquidate political computers in Iraq (Al-Jazeera Net)
Street boiling
In this regard, political expert Duraid Al-Nasser says that the attempt to assassinate Al-Kazemi by armed factions that has not announced itself so far, does not fall within the ongoing assassinations of Iraqi opposition, especially activists in the protests that the country witnessed in the past two years.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Nasser indicates that the attempt to assassinate Al-Kazemi was not planned by all armed factions, and that it was carried out by one faction away from the countries behind the support of these factions.
He adds that the recent period recorded a decrease in assassinations in Iraq, targeting activists or demonstrators who participated in popular protests that began in October 2019.
Al-Nasser considered that the parliamentary elections were one of the reasons that led to the decline in the series of assassinations in the Iraqi street.
The Iraqi expert warned that the coming days would witness a return to more dependence on weapons and assassinations, especially if the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, insisted on forming a new government based on the political majority.
Al-Nasser concluded his speech by saying that the Iraqi street's disappointment with the results of the elections and the lack of participation in them will lead to the possibility of the return of popular protests, which may increase the possibility of the resumption of the series of assassinations.
Red alert to everyone
The researcher in political affairs, Omar Al-Sharifi, believes that “the attempt to assassinate Al-Kazemi intervenes according to two perspectives: the first lies in an attempt to political pressure and intimidation in order to obtain parliamentary seats for the losing blocs, and the second is an attempt to sympathize and gain internal and external support for his assumption of a second term.”
Al-Sharifi says that the return to the use of assassinations portends a coming danger that everyone should be careful and wary of, in order to avoid a repeat of the Syrian-Yemeni scenario in Iraq.
And the Iraqi researcher points out - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that confusing the security situation by introducing assassinations and using new methods such as drones to liquidate opponents, Iraq enters a dark circle for the region and the international community.
Last month, the Director General of the Health Department of Dhi Qar Governorate, Saad Al-Majed, survived an assassination attempt, after his civilian vehicle was targeted by a sticky device.
Al-Bayati called on the government and the security and judicial authorities to work hard to hold the perpetrators of the previous assassinations accountable (Al-Jazeera Net)
Claims for retribution from the perpetrators
On the other hand, a member of the Human Rights Commission, Ali al-Bayati - told Al Jazeera Net - that the assassinations are an ongoing series in Iraq, and will continue in the long term because the security and legal authorities are unable to stop the perpetrators.
Al-Bayati calls on both Al-Kazemi and the security and judicial authorities to "hold the perpetrators accountable and bring them to the Iraqi judiciary, because the situation in this sense will have great consequences and the possibility of assassinating any figure in the state."
According to security sources, unknown persons assassinated Colonel Haider Hammoud Al-Husseinawi while he was leaving his workplace in Nukhaib to his home in Dhi Qar Governorate (south of the country).
Amid these leaks, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command quickly denied these news, stressing that the cause of Al-Husseinawi's death was due to an accident.
Iraqis have been living on the impact of assassinations for years, as this phenomenon increased after the outbreak of the October 2019 demonstrations.