Iraq changes Maritime Authority leadership

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Transport Ministry dismissed Ahmed Jassim Naim as head of the Supreme Iraqi Maritime Authority on Thursday and appointed Ali Abdul Latif Hussein as acting director, according to an official ministerial order.

The decision did not specify the reason for the dismissal, noting that it was based on Diwani Order No. 51 and a directive from the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.

Last week, the Council of Representatives voted to dismiss Iraqi Navy Commander Lt. Gen. Mazin Kbayan after parliament's Security and Defense Committee recommended his removal over alleged failures to protect Iraqi fishermen.

The recommendation followed an incident in which Kuwaiti authorities detained an Iraqi fishing boat and its five-member crew near the maritime border after opening fire on the vessel, killing one fisherman and wounding another. The crew members were later returned through the Safwan border crossing, along with the body of the slain fisherman.