Kurdistan’s deputy PM resigns after relieved of duties

SULAIMANIYA / IraqiNews.com: The deputy prime minister in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Omar Fattah, on Tuesday submitted his resignation after having been relieved of his post in the government. “Fattah submitted his resignation today after the political bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) had decided to relieve him of his duties and to replace him with the minister of construction, Imad Ahmed,” a source close to the PUK told IraqiNews.com news agency. The source did not provide further details. The decision comes two weeks following disputes within the union, led by Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani, which have prompted several union members, including Mostafa Sayyid Qadir, Omar al-Sayyid Ali, Jalal Johar and Othman al-Hajji Mahmoud, to resign. SS (P) 1