475 Iraqi pilots training in Jordan strike over wage cuts: reports

A large contingent of Iraqi pilots sent to Jordan for training are reported to be striking in protest of an 80 percent pay cut imposed by Iraq’s defence and economy ministers.

Four hundred and seventy-five pilots remained in their hotel in the Jordanian capital Amman on Thursday in protest of the move, according to Iraqi parliamentarian Awatif Naama.

Naama, a member of the ruling State of Law Coalition close to former president Nouri al-Maliki, told the Turkish Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the group’s American trainer had asked them to sign a document confirming their unwillingness to continue the technical training programme.

“If they are forced to sign it will be a huge loss – they are an essential tool for training the Iraqi officers and soldiers,” Naama said.

She called on current Iraqi president Haider al-Abadi to intervene personally and pay the group wages at their original level.

An Iraqi military leader, however, sought to play down reports regarding the strike, which were circulated on Iraqi social media on Thursday.

Anwar Humma Amin, a high-ranking officer in Iraq’s air force, told a press conference in Baghdad on Thursday evening that the group of 475 were continuing their training “in a normal way”.

However, Amin confirmed that a “payment problem” had been solved by intervention from the Iraqi Defence Minister, Khalid al-Abidi.

The group in Jordan are being trained to fly US-supplied F16 fighter jets.

Iraq currently relies for much of its air power on Saddam-era Sukhoi jets, which were deployed during the 1991 invasion of Kuwait.

The air force is also still recovering from a wave of assassinations that targeted pilots, along with intellectuals and academics, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Saddam Hussein.

Large numbers of pilots, perceived to be a target after having worked under Saddam Hussein, also fled Iraq to claim asylum, many of them in Jordan.

Baghdad is now hoping to boost the air force’s training and modernise its equipment, as Iraq’s armed forces prepare to launch a counter-offensive against Islamic State (IS) in the north-west of the country.

Iraqi military officials said on Friday that they will soon attempt to retake the key city of Ramadi, which is the capital of Anbar province and was captured by IS three weeks ago.

Local officials said on Friday that IS had shut down most of a dam just north of the city, cutting off water supplies to pro-government towns downstream.