Since we concluded the live-blog yesterday, there have been two key developments:
Obama: 'Siege' Of Sinjar Mountain Broken
U.S. President Barack Obama said the situation for Yazidis on Mount Sinjar in northern Iraq has greatly improved since last week when he ordered air strikes to relieve pressure on the refugees from militants of the Islamic State.
U.S., UN Praise Maliki's Departure, Support For Abadi
The U.S. has praised Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for deciding not to stay in his post, calling it a "major step forward" in uniting Iraq. Maliki announced early today in a national television address that he was "withdrawing" his candidacy for the post of prime minister in favor of Abadi.
Welcome back to our live-blog of all the developments in Iraq.
That concludes our live-blogging for today, Thursday August 14. We will be back at 9:00 a.m. (Prague time) tomorrow. In the meantime, you can visit RFE/RL's Iraq page for all the latest news.
U.S. sending weapons to Iraq
Radio Free Iraq reports that during a briefing at the American Embassy in Baghdad today, Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek, the top U.S. military officer serving in Iraq, said that the U.S. is sending Hellfire missiles, ammunition (15 million pieces has already been dispatched), and is considering sending about 300 military experts to be based in the Iraqi capital.
Total cuts staff in Kurdistan
French oil company Total says it has reduced its personnel working in autonomous Kurdistan region, although work on the two oil blocks it operates continued as scheduled.
A spokeswoman for Total told Reuters, “We are continuously monitoring the security situation in Kurdistan and we have adjusted the staff numbers. Work on our operated assets continues as scheduled.”
Last year, Total acquired an 80 percent stake and became operator of the Baranan exploration block in the Kurdistan region. Total was expected to drill its first exploration well at the end of this year.
The French company also operates the Safen block, northeast of Irbil. It also has minority stakes in the Harir and Taza blocks, where two oil discoveries were made last year.
Not all agree, however. Journalists, Kurdish officials, and Yazidi refugees say the situation is still dire.
Only 1,000 Yazidis remain on Mt. Sanjir
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says only 1,000 Yazidi refugees remain on Mount Sinjar. Spokeswoman for UN refugee agency UNHCR, Natalia Propokchuk, said around 80,000 Yazidis have escaped from the mountain in the last five days.
There were fears over those trapped on the barren mountain in the summer heat, with little access to food and water.
Syrian Kurdish forces said they had brought tens of thousands of the refugees to safety across the Syrian border.
US military spokesman Admiral John Kirby played down the likelihood of a rescue mission after U.S. officials who visited the site said the numbers of remaining refugees were lower than expected and their conditions and access to essential supplies better than had been feared.