Iraq parliament to sack provincial officials over deadly Tigris River ferry sinking

Iraq’s parliament has voted to remove Nineveh provincial governor Nofal al-Akoub and two of his deputies from their respective posts following last week’s sinking of a passenger ferry in the Tigris River near the city of Mosul wherein nearly 100 people died.

House deputy speaker Hassan al-Kaabi has confirmed that over 270 of Iraq’s 329-member parliament voted in favor of the officials’ removal.

Residents of Mosul, which is in Nineveh, had been engaged in angry protests calling for al-Akoub’s removal after reports surfaced that the huge death toll from the sinking was caused by corruption and inadequate search and rescue (SAR) assets.

Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the country’s Prime Minister, has appointed an interim council to serve as the province’s ruling authority until a new governor could be named.