Nineveh: Baghdad owes it 1.5T dinars

Shafaq News- Nineveh

Iraq's Finance Ministry owes Nineveh province more than 1.5 trillion dinars (about $1 billion) in unpaid funds, including compensation for victims of terrorism and military operations, Governor Abdul Qadir al-Dakhil said on Tuesday.

More than 1 trillion dinars (about $658 million) of the total is owed under Iraq's three-year federal budget, al-Dakhil told a press conference after meeting the provincial council. The arrears cover regional development allocations, stabilization funds, border-crossing revenues, and allocations for reconstruction funds covering liberated areas, Sinjar and the Nineveh Plains.

The province is also seeking a further 534 billion dinars (about $351 million) for about 44,000 compensation claims that have been processed and approved but not paid, under Law No. 20 of 2009, which compensates victims of military operations and terrorism. Only about 382 billion dinars have been paid out under the law so far, he said.

Al-Dakhil said the province understood the severe financial crisis Iraq faces but insisted the money must be paid. "These funds are not a favor, but the legitimate rights of the people of Nineveh," he said, noting the heavy losses they suffered under ISIS and during the military operations to retake the province.

ISIS seized Nineveh's capital, Mosul, in 2014, and Iraqi forces retook the city in 2017 after months of fighting that destroyed much of its old quarter.

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