UN Envoy’s Meeting with PMF Members Alarms Baghdad

A senior Iraqi official revealed of “illegal” roles played by head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert that coincided with the storming of the Green Zone in Baghdad by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) gunmen on Wednesday.

The gunmen had attempted to storm the heavily fortified Green Zone – home of government buildings and foreign missions - in wake of the arrest of Qasim Muslih, a commander of one of the PMF militias.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, the official said that Hennis-Plasschaert had carried out contacts with military figures, who had previously issued orders to storm the Green Zone to press for Muslih’s release.

The allegations coincided with the envoy appearing in a televised interview in which she did not deny that she had asked an Iraqi official to resign from his post.

Her remarks were understood as a reference to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The anonymous government official told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hennis-Plasschaert had held meetings in recent days without coordinating her moves with the Baghdad government.

She has even met with senior military commanders that are directly connected to the storming of the Green Zone, he added.

He said that the government has demanded that the envoy provide the legal framework on which she based these meetings, significantly since they coincided with events that had threatened the sovereignty of the country.

The UN mission usually refrains from commenting on local political crises and is often keen on avoiding making contentious statements over internal disputes between local parties.

The government official remarked, however, that Baghdad does not believe that the storming of the Green Zone, the base of its most important headquarters, is a simple matter of a dispute between local parties.

Rather the development is a dangerous incident that almost threatened to destabilize the country, he added indignantly.

In recent months, Hennis-Plasschaert had carried out several meetings with officials in the PMF and played a role in striking the truce between the Iraqi armed factions and US troops in October 2020.

The government official revealed that Baghdad had demanded that the envoy clarify whether she had held undisclosed meetings with military figures.

She must clarify whether the UN mission believes that the storming of the Green Zone threatens Iraq’s security or that it understands the motives of the aggressors, he added.

This is not the first time that Hennis-Plasschaert has come under severe criticism by Iraqi officials.

Last year, anti-government protesters vented their rage against her for her perceived weak statements in speaking out against the oppression they have been victim to since the eruption of their movement in October 2019.