U.S. and Kurdish flags flutter in the wind as displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community cross the Syria-Iraq border at Feeshkhabour bridge over the Tigris River at Feeshkhabour border point, in northern... (Associated Press) 
 
 Iraqi security forces stand guard amid tight security by Iraqi security forces that sealed off roads around a pro-government demonstration supporting Embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq, Monday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Iraqis chant pro-government slogans and wave national flags to show support for embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. It’s a very complicated situation with the army.” 
 
 1 of 42 Full Screen Autoplay Close Aug. 10, 2014 Aug. 9, 2014 Saturday Aug. 7, 2014 Thursday Aug. 5, 2014 Tuesday Aug. 4, 2014 Monday Aug. 3, 2014 Sunday Skip Ad × Yazidis cross into Iraqi Kurdistan from Syria View Photos After being stranded on the parched Mount Sinjar for almost a week and then walking 12 miles to seek refuge in Syria, some of the persecuted civilians were able to safely return to the Kurdish region of Iraq with the help of Syrian Kurdish forces. Al-Maliki is taking... (Associated Press) 
 
 An Iraqi soldier stands guard amid tight security measures by Iraqi security forces during a pro-government demonstration to show support for embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in Baghdad, Iraq,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a camp in Derike, Syria, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2014. Maliki maintains, however, that since his bloc won the most seats in parliament in national elections this spring, he should be the one leading the next government. Kurdish authorities at the border believe some 45,000 Yazidis passed the river crossing in the past... (Associated Press) 
 
 In a televised address Fouad Massoum gave Haider al-Ibadi 30 days to form a new government and present it to parliament for approval, expressing his hope he would succeed.
– The big question in Iraq today: Will Nouri al-Maliki go quietly? As expected, President Fouad Massoum snubbed the two-term prime minister and said he must step down to make way for someone new. Massoum picked deputy parliament speaker Haider al-Ibadi to be the next PM and gave him 30 days to form a government, reports the AP. "Now the Iraqi people are in your hands," said Massoum. The move comes after Maliki addressed the nation at midnight and insisted that he be allowed to remain in office because his is the largest bloc in parliament, reports the New York Times. He even deployed troops in the capital as a show of force. But those actions may have only hurt his cause further, reports the Washington Post. It quotes a Kurdish politician who says the speech triggered a "major defection" today against Maliki within his Shiite coalition. "We have passed the stage of military coups and taking power by force," says Hoshyar Zebari. The US, which has long seen Maliki as too polarizing, has already made clear that it expects Maliki to abide by Massoum's decision and warned against any use of force. (Meanwhile, Iraq is still battling militants from the Islamic State.)