ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq claimed on Sunday that the Baiji refinery – the country’s largest -- has been subjected to looting and warned over potential sabotage.
"Devices and equipment and other materials have been stolen at the Baiji refinery," said town mayor Mohammed Mahmood. Iraqi "security forces have begun legal measures to prevent the theft that has sabotaged the operating of the refinery."
Mahmood said the refinery has not been restarted since the town was reclaimed from the Islamic State (ISIS) group in October because "there are still security forces inside the refinery."
Photos purporting to show the looting of equipment at Baiji by militiamen of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces, have been published by Iraqi activists.
In the meantime, economist Abdulwahid Taha told Rudaw that "the sabotaging of the Baiji refinery will negatively impact the Iraqi economy" and that facility needs serious repair because it has been out of operation for several months due to fighting.
In mid-2014, Iraqi forces captured the town of Baiji from ISIS and last October they evicted the militants from facility with the help of Shiite militiamen and airstrikes from the US-led coalition.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment