Key points to remember:

• The changes of command increase the tension between Kadhimi and the militias; Erdogan threatens to act in Sinjar; 113 lawmakers call for changes to the 2021 budget; Jordanian Prime Minister in Baghdad for trade talks – On January 21, Prime Minister Kadhimi replaced five senior security officials following the deadly suicide bombings of January 21. Kataib Hezbollah condemned Kadhimi’s orders as a political settling of scores, calling for Kadhimi’s impeachment. On January 22, the Turkish president warned that Ankara could launch a sudden military operation against the PKK to expel its fighters from Sinjar. On January 24, Vice President Hassan al-Kaabi tasked two parliamentary committees to summon the ministers of oil and electricity, threatening to sack the ministers if the electricity situation continued to deteriorate. On January 25, President al-Halbousi visited Kuwait and met with the Emir and Prime Minister of Kuwait to discuss reconstruction assistance. On January 25, an Iraqi court sentenced in absentia a former director of the Commercial Bank of Iraq to five years in prison for loan fraud and waste of public funds. On January 25, KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani led a delegation to Baghdad to discuss the KRG’s share in the 2021 budget. On January 26, 113 lawmakers called for several changes to the 2021 budget. The changes aim to reduce spending and borrowing and require the KRG to deliver to the federal government a minimum of 460,000 bpd. On January 28, Jordanian Prime Minister Bishr al-Khasawneh visited Baghdad and met with Prime Minister Kadhimi to discuss trade and economic cooperation. They agreed, among other things, to simplify border transit procedures, expand Iraqi crude exports to Jordan and build a 300-kilometer power transmission line on the Iraqi and Jordanian networks. After…

• ISIS increases attacks on the power grid; Deadly ISIS attack kills 11 militiamen; New rockets target Baghdad airport – Between January 21 and 28, explosions of 16 IEDs and remnants of war in various provinces killed one Iraqi and injured at least eight others. Six of the blasts targeted power lines and repair crews in and around Nineveh and Kirkuk, causing widespread disruption to the power supply. Two other devices targeted civilian contractors carrying supplies for the International Coalition, while an IED and grenade attack targeted militants in Dhi-Qar and Najaf, respectively. On January 22, Turkish airstrikes targeting the PKK injured three civilians in Duhok province. On January 23, the United States announced new $ 20 million in security assistance to Baghdad to strengthen security measures in the Green Zone. On January 23, three rockets targeted Baghdad airport, landing outside the airport and damaging a civilian residence. On January 24, ISIS militants killed 11 PMF fighters, including the commander of a PMF regiment, in a major attack in Salah ad-Din province. The attack also injured at least eight PMF fighters. On January 26, gunmen assassinated the campaign manager of an MP from Diyala and another civilian near Baquba. Between January 23 and 27, International Coalition airstrikes killed at least 17 ISIS militants in the Qara Chogh mountains and the Kirkuk region. After…

• Report says 3.2 million children did not receive formal education in 2020; Calls to speed up executions raise concerns about due process; Slightly increasing COVID-19 infections – On January 24, UNAMI released a report on the difficulties Iraqi girls face in receiving an adequate education. The report highlights that 3.2 million Iraqi children did not receive “formal public education” in 2020, and warns that security concerns disproportionately affect girls’ ability to access education. On January 25, Iraqi authorities executed three Iraqis convicted of terrorism after a double suicide bombing on January 21 prompted further calls for the execution of death row inmates. A disputed statement attributed to the Iraqi presidency said that Iraq approved the executions of 340 detainees convicted of terrorism. On January 28, the Iraqi Ministry of Health reported that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had risen to 617,202. Deaths from confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 13,024 while the number of patients currently hospitalized decreased to 15,918. To date, 588,260 patients have recovered from the virus and Iraq has tested 5,520,056 samples for COVID-19. The daily average of new cases increased from 809 / day in the 7-day period ending Jan. 21 to 943 / day in the last 7-day period. After…

• Iraq signs memorandum of understanding for new refinery; Baghdad is asking for up to $ 6 billion from the IMF; A French company will rebuild Mosul airport; EU and World Bank support PFM initiative – On January 21, Iraq signed a first agreement with an international consortium for the construction of a 100,000 bpd refinery in Dhi-Qar. On January 23, the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) said Iraq exported 1,096,345,000 barrels of oil in 2020 at an average price of $ 38.86 per barrel, generating $ 41.755 billion in revenue. . On January 25, the Iraqi finance minister announced talks with the IMF to secure aid totaling $ 6 billion. On January 25, Iraqi officials said Iraq had signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s Aéroports de Paris Ingénierie (ADPI) to rebuild Mosul International Airport. On January 25, Iraq signed an agreement with the World Bank and the EU for a public financial management grant of $ 12.5 million to promote financial surveillance. The project aims to optimize the wage bill of public institutions through computer programs, increase transparency in the oil sector and strengthen anti-corruption measures in public enterprises. On January 25, officials from the Dhi-Qar Oil Company said the protests threatened to disrupt 80,000 bpd oil production. On January 27, Zain al-Iraq Telecom Company announced that it had launched 4G-LTE test services in all Iraqi provinces. On January 27, the Iraqi oil ministry announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the French oil company Total to develop new projects in the oil and natural gas sectors. After…

For more context on most of the institutions, key players, political parties and places mentioned in our takeaways or in the stories that follow, see the ISHM Reference Guide.