BAGHDAD — As Iraq's protest movement struck against Iran-backed Shiite groupings in the south and center of the country, the north is also turning its back on them. While a man allied with Shiite forces won the Ninevah governor's post in May, he was ousted in November and replaced with a Sunni figure close to the United States.
Political conflict has returned to the forefront of developments in Ninevah province after the provincial council voted Nov. 24 to dismiss Gov. Mansour al-Muraid and appointed instead the man who had commanded the military operation against the Islamic State there, Maj. Gen. Najm al-Jabouri. The roots of the current crisis in the province stem from the political alignments that followed Muraid’s election in May. Muraid, who is Sunni, is affiliated with the so-called Ataa faction chaired by the head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units, Faleh al-Fayadh; the governor's appointment had drawn battle lines within the Iraqi parliament.