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Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:11 pm
Author: Anthea
Ernst Meets with the Kurdistan Interior Minister

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst joined Senator Jim Inhofe and a bipartisan group of senators in a meeting with Karim Sinjari, Minister for the Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq.
“The Kurdistan region shares our democratic values and is a beacon of religious liberty in the Middle East. They are also a vital partner for the United States as we continue the fight against ISIS and Islamic extremism. I appreciated Minister Sinjari for taking the time to update us today about the current situation and challenges in Iraq as well as the KRG’s continued counterterrorism efforts,” Inhofe said.

Senator Ernst (R-IA) added: “I enjoyed meeting with Kurdistan Interior Minister Karim Sinjari to discuss current events, including the war against ISIS. For years, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been a critical and reliable partner to the United States in our fight against terror. While significant progress has been made militarily, there is more to be done. It is my hope that the United States can continue to work with both the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces to eradicate ISIS and restore stability to the region.”

Senators Enzi (R-WY), Gardner (R-CO), Johnson (R-WI), Reed (D-RI) and Shaheen (D-NH) also attended the meeting, which included a discussion about the current security situation in Iraq and the increasing role Iran plays in the region.

https://kiow.com/2018/01/27/ernst-meets ... -minister/

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:43 pm
Author: Anthea
Why Kurdish Statehood Dream is Turkey’s Nightmare

The Kurds are the world’s largest ethnic group without a state of their own. Since their best hopes for independence were dashed a century ago, they’ve lived as minorities dispersed across a handful of countries in the Middle East, subject to ill treatment by Arab- and Persian-dominated governments. Territorial gains by Kurdish fighters in the war in Syria and the overlapping battle against Islamic State in Iraq raised the possibility that an independent homeland was within reach for the Kurds. But with governments of the countries where they live adamantly opposed to a sovereign Kurdistan, those prospects have dimmed again.

The Situation

The strongest push for statehood has come from Iraq’s Kurds, who in an October referendum voted for independence. In response, Iraq’s national government dispatched troops who retook territory beyond the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region that Kurdish forces had expanded into in 2014. The Kurds had moved into those areas, which included the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, after the Iraqi army fled in the face of Islamic State attacks.

In Syria, the Kurdish force known as the YPG has been under periodic attack by Turkey. During the civil war and battle against Islamic State in Syria, the YPG gained control of cantons in the north and has been pushing to link them to create a contiguous zone of “self administration.” Turkey fears that the group’s advances will encourage separatism among its own Kurds and accuses the YPG of working hand-in-hand with Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, from which it is an offshoot. Turkish officials have strongly objected to U.S. support of the YPG. In 2015, Turkey resumed its fight with the PKK, which the U.S. and European Union consider a terrorist organization. That ended a three-year truce and reconciliation effort.

The Background

Numbering about 50 million worldwide, the Kurds are an Indo-European people who were traditionally nomadic. Mostly Sunni Muslims, Kurds have long had a reputation for military acumen; Saladin, 12th century vanquisher of the Crusaders, was Kurdish.

The 1920 Treaty of Sevres, dissolving the Ottoman Empire after World War I, established a path toward a Kurdish state. But the victorious allies scrapped those provisions in the final 1923 Treaty of Lausanne because of opposition from the newly formed Turkey. The freshly drawn borders of the region divided the Kurdish homeland between Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.

Kurds have been discriminated against in those countries in a variety of ways. They’ve been stripped of their citizenship, excluded from some professions and barred from giving their children certain names. They have pushed for equal rights and autonomy over their affairs and periodically rebelled.

National authorities have responded severely, with measures including expelling Kurds from their villages and, in Iraq, attacking them with chemical weapons. After the 1991 Gulf war, the U.S. and its allies created a safe zone in Iraq to protect rebelling Kurds from reprisals by Saddam Hussein’s regime, paving the way for Kurdish self-rule there.

The Argument

Is a Kurdish state realistic? Not even the Kurds speak seriously of welding Kurdish areas together to form one united country anytime soon. WRONG There is no pan-Kurdish movement. WRONG Kurdish leaders are badly disunited, in part because regional governments play Kurds against each other.

Even without the Kirkuk area, oil could make a state in Kurdish Iraq economically viable. Before the rise of Islamic State, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s favorable laws attracted so many foreign investors, its capital Erbil was nicknamed the new Dubai. Yet the area is landlocked and relies on Turkey and Iran for trade routes.

Both Turkey and Iran oppose the creation of a Kurdish state in Iraq for fear it would encourage their own Kurds to break away. The U.S. is also against the idea. It worries that Iraq would splinter further into Sunni Arab- and Shiite Arab-controlled areas, exposing minority groups to abuse.

Saddam Husein chased Kurds out of Kirkuk and PAID Arabs to steal Kurdish lands, homes and properties. Under Saddam Husein, Iraq’s Arabs also destroyed many small Kurdish villages around Kirkuk in an effort to ensure the residents never returned.

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 1:46 am
Author: Anthea
US Deputy Secretary of State reiterates support for the KRG

The US Deputy Secretary of State reiterated US support for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its people in a meeting with KRG's prime minister. He hoped the KRG will be able to participate in a donor conference for reconstruction of Iraq to take place next month in Kuwait.

KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani welcomed US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman, and other officials Monday afternoon in Erbil.

They discussed an upcoming donor conference for rebuilding Iraq hosted by Kuwait in February, with the Sullivan expressing hope “that the KRG can also benefit from projects put forth by donor countries for Iraq," read a statement from the KRG.

The KRG would like to attend, Barzani told the US delegation, so they can “meet what it needs for rebuilding," the statement added.

The international conference will be held on February 12-14, hosted by Kuwait together with the World Bank and the EU.

The KRG Ministry of Electricity announced two weeks ago that it would prepare proposals and participate in the conference with the backing of the UK for attracting investors and donations for improving electricity services in the KRG.

The US delegation also discussed bilateral relations and political process in the KRG.

Barzani thanked the US government and other coalition-member countries for paving the way for discussions between Erbil and Baghdad.

Sullivan said he hoped outstanding issues could be solved based on the Iraqi constitution through serious dialogue.

The KRG Prime Minister has met with the Iraqi Prime Minister twice since the breakdown of relations following the Iraqi Army incursion into the disputed territories and is expected to have a third meeting soon as progress is being made in talks between committees from the two governments.

Earlier on Monday, the KRG confirmed they received 250 billion Iraqi dinars (about $210 million) from Baghdad for the salaries of Kurdish state employees, particularly the health and education ministries while the lists are being audited.

Sullivan also met Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other Iraqi high ranking officials on the weekend.

He urged Baghdad to continue dialogue with the KRG and to continue to work with Barzani and his deputy to reach accommodations on the payment of salaries and reopening of airports based on the Iraqi constitution.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/290120184

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:10 am
Author: Anthea
Iraqi parliament votes to lift sanctions on Kurdistan region banks

The Iraqi parliament voted on Monday to lift sanctions imposed on banks in the Kurdistan region over an independence referendum, two main Iraqi TV channels reported.

Lawmakers in Baghdad approved that sanctions be lifted after they had “fulfilled their purpose” by enforcing federal controls on the Kurdish banking industry, said a copy of the measure published by Baghdad-based al-Sumariya TV.

The government will now enact the decision.

The sanctions included restrictions on dollar and foreign currency transfers and sales to four Kurdish-owned banks by the central bank in Baghdad.

A ban on direct international flights to and from the Kurdistan region, also imposed in retaliation for the Sept. 25 Kurdish independence referendum, is still in place.

The central government in Baghdad said the vote, which delivered an overwhelming yes for independence, is illegal.

In October, Iraqi government forces dislodged Kurdish fighters from several disputed areas including the oil region of Kirkuk.

Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Janet Lawrence

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mide ... SKBN1FI1FA

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:12 am
Author: Anthea
Iraqi military denies news on Peshmerga deployment near Kirkuk

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi Joint Operations Command denied on Monday news circulated about deployment of the Kurdish Peshmerga troops near Kirkuk to regain control on it.

In a statement, the command said, “some media channels circulated false news that Peshmerga troops moved toward regions in east of Kirkuk.”

“The Joint Operations Command confirms that no change with locations of both the Peshmerga or federal troops,” it said expressing astonishment at the false news that seek misleading the public.

The command warned the media channels, which posted such news, of being trapped and said it “has the right to take legal measures through coordination with the media and telecommunications authority.”

Media channels on Sunday reported that Peshmerga troops made movements after the federal forces moved toward regions in southeast of Kirkuk.

Informed military sources said on Saturday that Peshmerga received orders to be on high alert across Kurdistan.

Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote for independence from Iraq in September, urging Peshmerga to cooperate with federal troops.

Iraqi government forces approached the southern borders of Erbil, capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, shortly after engaging in clashes with the region’s forces in northern Kirkuk in October.

https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraq ... ar-kirkuk/

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:27 am
Author: Anthea
It's the constitution, stupid

Calls for Erbil and Baghdad to resolve their differences “in accordance with the Iraq Constitution” are often platitudes while the media seems largely ignorant of what the constitution actually provides. This is according to a British legal expert whose detailed evidence has been published by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee as part of its inquiry into Kurdish aspirations and British interests.

The analysis is authored by Nick Hills, a solicitor who has lived in Kurdistan and Iraq and was involved in the development of the KRG's energy sector since 2006. It details the constitution's articles on key issues including oil and gas, revenue sharing, tax and courts, borders, customs duties, and the Peshmerga.

The paper points out that the 2005 Iraqi constitution may have been a compromise reached primarily between the Shia majority parties in Iraq and the Kurds, and that none was entirely happy with its less than definitive compromises but that the constitution includes certain fundamental rights and protections for the Kurdistan Region.

Hills' paper concludes that this "demonstrates that merely encouraging the Federal Government and the KRG to settle their differences 'in accordance with the Iraq Constitution' will, in present circumstances, achieve no more than exacerbate what is and has almost since the Iraq Constitution was adopted in 2005 been an impasse."

Hills rules out the use of force and conflict and suggests, in the absence of access to an impartial tribunal, "some form of educated formal or informal mediation or external direction, therefore, is essential; and it is essential that any 'educated mediators' understand what is contained in the Iraq Constitution and the difficulties inherent in resolving the impasse “in accordance with the Iraq Constitution.”

He says this means that Baghdad and Erbil accept and perform the letter of the constitution or agree compromises that would require amendment to the constitution, which will be difficult to obtain if they detract from the Kurdistan Region’s rights and protections.

So far, British mediation has been ruled out by Alistair Burt, the British minister for the Middle East, given that it is a sovereign matter and Baghdad is not open to it. But other countries have offered to mediate on the basis of the constitution. Calls and offers to mediate are useful in themselves in putting pressure on Baghdad to relax its high-handed attitude and for agreements to be based on the constitution.

Bill Clinton's political strategist James Carville coined the phrase, "It's the economy, stupid" to put at the core of Clinton's successful 1992 presidential bid. The Hills dossier reminds us that the Iraqi constitution should be front and centre of a sustainable deal between Erbil and Baghdad.

My hope is that having published this valuable evidence the Foreign Affairs Committee will refer to the need to abide by the constitution in its forthcoming report, maybe as early as next month.

APPG Chairman Jack Lopresti MP recently tabled a written question to the UK Foreign Secretary asking him to release copies of letters to then-President Barzani on the alternatives to the Kurdistani independence referendum that were endorsed by UK representatives in August and September 2017.

Minister Burt replied: "I am unable to place their confidential diplomatic correspondence in the House of Commons Library. The UK’s role in negotiations ahead of the Referendum was covered during my evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 9 January. Our Ambassador to Iraq, together with the US Ambassador and UN Special Representative, made strenuous efforts in the weeks before the Referendum on 25 September to persuade the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to postpone the Referendum in return for talks on all areas of dispute between the KRG and the Government of Iraq, supported by the international community and with no pre-conditions."

The answer is expected given diplomatic norms but I note that it omits reference to the promise in, I think, the final draft letter of September 23, 2017 between US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the then-President Barzani of American support, or to be precise, its willingness to "recognise the need," for a referendum at a later stage.

British support or otherwise for a referendum in similar circumstances may be academic for now but become a more pressing matter if agreement on the basis of the Iraqi constitution proves impossible and Kurdistan returns one day to its quest for statehood, with international support.

Gary Kent is the Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). He writes this column for Rudaw in a personal capacity. The address for the all-party group is appgkurdistan@gmail.com.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/opinion/29012018

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 1:19 pm
Author: Anthea
Kirkuk politics in a stalemate as Kurds claim another Arabization

After four failed attempts to convene the Kirkuk provincial council, the situation is deadlocked, with little hope of resolution without outside intervention

Rebwar Talabani, the acting head Kirkuk provincial council, said he has sent an official letter to Iraq’s prime minister and parliament speaker, calling on them to help normalize the situation in Kirkuk, which was taken over by Iraqi forces in mid-October, but "they have not responded to me."

He has set dates for the council to convene four times, but every attempt failed. "The Kirkuk issue, like the airport, crossing border and other issues, should be discussed with Baghdad,” said the Kurdish politician.

After disputed areas were controlled by Iraqi forces backed by the Hashd al-Shaabi, some Kurdish officials were removed from their positions including the mayors of Mandali and Tuz Khurmatu and the head of agriculture department.

The position of Kirkuk governor was given to an Arab X( replacing Kurdish governor Najmaldin Karim, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) who was ousted by Baghdad because of his support for the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum and decision to raise the Kurdistan flag alongside the Iraqi one over government buildings.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has not returned to Kirkuk since leaving the city in October, calling it “occupied,” making it difficult for the provincial council to convene and choose a new governor.

"If the council does not convene, you cannot regain the governor. If you do not regain the governor and there is no council, you cannot oversee anything or defend yourself or your rights," said a PUK official in Kirkuk who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"We are disappointed the KDP has not returned,” he added. “They want to have an agreement with Baghdad government [and then] return, which is difficult at the moment."

But the KDP maintains it is not safe for them to return.

“How can we return to Kirkuk? Our offices are 100 metres away from PUK ones, but ours have been turned into military bases while they [PUK] are working in their offices without any problem,” said Mohammed Kamal, head of Kurdish-led Brotherhood bloc in the council as well as the KDP bloc in Kirkuk :-?

“They say Hashd al-Shaabi is not present in Kirkuk. No, they are there under other names. Hashd are residing in Irfan Kirkuki's and my house now,” he claimed.

Kirkuki is a member Turkmen People's Party and of the Brotherhood faction, which has the majority in the council with 26 seats. Arabs and Turkmens have 14 seats in the council and currently hold many high positions in the province.

Of the 26 members of the Brotherhood bloc, just six now live in Kirkuk, according to Rebwar Talabani.

After reports of the renewal of Arabization policies in Kirkuk, Kurds fear that normalizing the situation in the province will be difficult.

Mahdi Mubarak, the former head of Kirkuk’s agriculture department who was also removed from his post, said he has information that some Arabs are appealing to court to reclaim lands given to them by Baathist regime, seeking to undo efforts to reverse the Arabization process.

They "have returned to Yayci, Laylan, Daquq, Sargaran, and even Pirde, but few of them have plowed their lands, and a number of families have come from Diwaniyah province but it is not easy to re-register the land in their names," Mubarak explained.

In Dubiz and Daquq, towns in south of Kirkuk city and home to Kakaye Kurds, some Arabs have plowed lands, he claimed. “Generally, the governor does not have the authority to return the lands to them, the court does."

Iraq will hold provincial and parliamentary elections on May 12.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/300120181

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:46 pm
Author: Anthea
Proposed Sunni ‘Sahwa’ militia not good for Kurds

Elements in the Iraqi parliament are working to pass legislation on the formation of a force under the name Sahwa which will be similar to the Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias.

The name is not new and is reminiscent of Nouri al-Maliki’s support for the Sahwa, the so-called “Sunni Awakening” who were armed with the aim of fighting al-Qaeda. The leader of Maliki’s Sahwa was killed and the group was sidelined in 2013. Some members joined ISIS and others fled to the Kurdistan Region, fearing the Shiite forces.

Current efforts to form a new Sahwa force are different from the past because the group will be established in all disputed areas.

In the event an agreement is reached for the return of Peshmerga forces to disputed areas, then the Kurdish force will have to interact with this new militia, which not only takes orders from Baghdad, but also stakes a claim for these areas.

The Hashd al-Shaabi were said to be incapable of fighting the Peshmerga after the Kurdish force took control of disputed territories from ISIS because those regions are not traditionally Shiite.

This, however, proved to be an incorrect assumption.

Hashd al-Shaabi absorbed and formed alliances with Mosul’s Sunni Arabs, the Christians of the Nineveh Plains, and the Yezidis of Shingal.

If the plan to reform the Sahwa in disputed areas succeeds, the project will be of great use to Baghdad and a dangerous for Erbil.

Although the motion in parliament bears the signatures of 12 Iraqi lawmakers, it appears to be designed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. It is clear that Iraq’s Sunni Arabs were the reason behind instability in the new Iraq because they felt they were being sidelined, first by the Shiites and also by the Kurds.

Post-ISIS, the question of Kurdish independence was expected to pose a danger to the survival of Iraq as a country. But Baghdad neutralized this danger. The challenge currently is how to make Sunni Arabs feel that they also have rights in order to prevent conditions that might give rise to new ISIS-like groups in the country. The formation of Sahwa is one of the tools by which the Iraqi government can achieve this.

The United States will consider the formation of another Sahwa group as positive, because they will not consist of Shiites and might not be close to Iran. Such a group will bring about a balance with respect to the Shiite Iranian hegemony over Iraq’s armed forces.

This creation of this group will also send a message to regional Sunni countries like Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states that Sunnis have returned to Baghdad and Iran’s influence is declining.

The world will have a nice perception of Iraq in which the Sunnis will not be seen as marginalized and will encourage investment in Iraq.

This is the ideal promise that the group holds. But the situation looks very different for the Kurds.

The Peshmerga, army and federal police forces are mandated under the constitution. But the Hashd al-Shaabi forces, directly, are not. The Sahwa group will be viewed as another militia force.

If an agreement is reached in the future on the return of Peshmerga forces to disputed areas, the Peshmerga will have to deal with the Iraqi army and federal police forces, on the one hand. On the other hand, they will face a constant danger of confrontation with a militia force that also claims these areas — further complicating the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/opinion/01022018

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 10:18 pm
Author: Anthea
ISIS suicide bombers killed in Kirkuk military operation

Security force killed on Wednesday two Islamic State suicide bombers and arrested three others during a military operation in western Kirkuk, a security source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Alghad Press news website, the source said, “Federal police personnel shot dead two Islamic State suicide attackers during a clampdown to track down Islamic State remnants at a village in Hawija, 45 km west of Kirkuk.”

“The troops also arrested three Islamic State militants and found a terrorist hotbed, comprising explosive materials and mobile phones,” the source added.

He pointed out security forces will continue to assume their duties on a daily basis until purging all Iraqi territories from Islamic State remnants.

In October, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country.

The town fell to Islamic State in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”. There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces.

Hawija, which lies 215 km (135 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has been a bastion of Jihadists since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/two- ... operation/

Kurds need their lands back - they need to be strong again

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:52 pm
Author: Anthea
ISIS cell in Halabja area dismantled, militants killed, arrested

Security operations against an ISIS sleeper cell in Halabja province on the border with Iran are complete, Asayesh (security) forces announced in a statement on Friday evening.

All the “terrorists” have been killed and no threat remains from the group, the Asayesh stated.

The suspected ISIS group attacked a Kurdish security office in the town of Bamo, in Halabja in January. Kurdish forces repelled the attack but the group remained at large.

The same group is believed to have also operated across the border, killing three Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

“We assure everyone that we continue with all our efforts to protect the security of our region and will not let enemies of freedom harm life in Kurdistan,” read the Asayesh statement.

Most of the members of the group were Kurds, but there some Arabs among them as well.

“A team from Garmiyan Asayesh were investigating the ISIS sleeper cell and were able to arrest the terrorist M. M., a Kurd, and his older brother Dilshad Bawanuriyah, who had helped the terrorists in Garmiyan,” read the statement.

Bamo town, 195 kilometers southeast of Erbil, is just west of the Hamrin mountain range that includes Mount Bamo. Kurdish officials have expressed concern about ISIS militants regrouping in Hamrin as the rugged area provides many possible hideouts.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/020220182

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 7:11 pm
Author: Anthea
What we see is a strong connect between Sahwa often referred to as the 'Sunni Awakening' and ISIS which was another form of 'Sunni Awakening'

The re-establishing of Sahwa by the Iraqi government will give ISIS supporters a new home and placing them inside all disputed areas of Kurdistan will no doubt lead to violent conflict which is probably the main reason for such an action

A new ISIS in the middle of Kurdistan :shock:

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 7:16 pm
Author: Anthea
Iraqi ban on Kurdistan landline calls puts lives at risk

A decision by the Iraqi authorities to force cell phone companies to cut calls to Kurdistan-based landlines puts citizens’ lives and security at risk, Kurdish officials have warned.

Police, security forces, and other emergency first responders use landlines to receive calls about accidents, security threats and crime.

The call center for Erbil Police Force usually receives up to 5,000 calls per day on its five hotlines, but when a Rudaw team visited the center on Friday, silence prevailed.

“Since these lines have been disconnected, we have faced problems, but it is the people who face even more problems,” Hogir Aziz, spokesperson for Erbil police, told Rudaw.

“People are the number one victim [for this service shutdown], because we cannot receive their calls as we should. The new situation means that we learn of accidents with a delay,” the officer said, adding that citizens used to be first to flag accidents.

Police say they may issue new phone numbers to sidestep the Iraqi-imposed ban.

The ban virtually cuts all communications between Iraq’s three mobile phone providers and Kurdistan-based landline providers.

Kurdish-based Asiacell and Korek Telecom, two cell phone providers that obtained their licenses from Iraqi communication authorities, plus Zain Telecom, have applied the measure.

Hundreds of subscribers to landline provider Newroz Telecom in Erbil and Duhok, and KurdTel users in Sulaimani, have had their calls to cell phones cut. The ban was introduced on the basis that these companies do not have the correct license from Iraqi authorities. Both companies are registered with Kurdistan’s transport and communication ministry.

Fatih Ismail Ahmad, a spokesperson for Newroz Telecom, said the ban has had a “great impact” on the firm’s services.

The Iraqi government has introduced a number of measures against the Kurdistan Region including an ongoing ban on international flights to and from its airports, imposed just days after the Kurdish vote on independence on September 25. It also placed sanctions on Kurdistan-based banks.

The Kurdistan Region has called on Baghdad to lift the bans, calling them a “collective punishment.”

Erbil and Baghdad have held talks about repealing the measures, the most recent of which took place on January 20 when KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visits his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. The two sides are yet to reach an agreement.

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:38 pm
Author: Anthea
Iraqi federal court refuses to issue ruling on Kurdish flag in Kirkuk

The Iraqi Federal Court has refused to rule on the issue of raising the flag of Kurdistan in the disputed province of Kirkuk saying that it does not fall under the court's specialty, but a Kurdish senior official claims that the court has ruled that raising the flag was "legal."

Elias Samook, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Federal Court, told Iraqi media on Monday that the court rejected to issue a ruling on the flag issue because it does not fall under the court's "specialty."

The court can accept cases only when the there is a disagreement between the provincial council and the governor on a given subject, he said.

He said the issue has to be settled by other legal institutions based on the law that governs all Iraqi provinces apart from the four provinces of the Kurdistan Region. He did not give the name of such institution.

The Iraqi Administrative Court ruled in August last year to cancel a decision by Kirkuk Provincial Council that voted to raise the flag of Kurdistan alongside the Iraqi one. Kurdish officials said then that they will appeal.

The acting head of Kirkuk Provincial Council Rebwar Talabani told Rudaw earlier in the day that the Iraqi Federal Court has decided that raising of Kurdistan flag in Kirkuk is legal, thus, calling for investigation of all those who took it down after October 16 events.

Talabani, who has not lived in Kirkuk since the Iraqi takeover, also claimed that the federal court rejected all complaints filed against him.

The Flag of Kurdistan was hoisted over the government building along with Iraq's in Kirkuk in March before it was taken down after October 16.

Iraqi forces removed the Kurdistan flags from state buildings in October. Kurdish parties have also been forbidden from raising the flag at their offices.

Talabani from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) has been the acting head since 2014. He took up the post when the previous council chief, Hasan Turan, who is Turkmen, ran for Iraqi elections in 2014.

Talabani and deposed Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim were the driving forces behind the council's decision to raise the Kurdistan flag in the city in March and then to join the September referendum on independence, both of which were opposed by the Iraqi government.

The Turkmen Front had filed a court case against Talabani over the decision to fly the Kurdistan flag. His lawyers had attended at least one court session in Baghdad.

Talabani has said he will not return to Kirkuk until the situation returns to what it was before the Iraqi takeover. He has also insisted for Kurdistan flag be raised again, as per the council decision.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appointed Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, an Arab, as acting governor in mid-October when Iraqi forces and Iran-backed paramilitaries took control of the disputed or Kurdistani city, claimed by Erbil and Baghdad.

Jabouri is the first Arab governor of Kirkuk since 2003 X(

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/050220181

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:45 pm
Author: Anthea
Iraqi Kurds say 4,000 jihadists detained including foreigners
By Afp

Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan said Tuesday they had detained some 4,000 suspected members of the Islamic State jihadist group, including foreigners, in recent years.

They include around 1,000 jihadists who surrendered during the battle for Hawija, the last ISIS urban stronghold in Iraq until its fall late last year, Iraqi Kurdish official Dindar Zibari told reporters.

He said 350 people detained in northern Iraq who admitted to belonging to ISIS had been transferred from the city of Kirkuk, stolen by federal forces in October, to Kurdish-run prisons.

Human Rights Watch said in December that hundreds of detainees held by the Iraqi Kurdish authorities in Kirkuk were feared to have been "forcibly disappeared".

"The names of all these prisoners were submitted to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, but they did not inform the families of 350 people," Zibari said.

He did not specify the number of foreigners among those arrested but said some had already been sent home, including a Japanese journalist detained in 2016 on suspicion of ties to ISIS.

Security forces from the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq have played a significant role in the war against ISIS.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory in December in the three-year campaign by Iraqi forces to expel ISIS jihadists from the vast areas north and west of Baghdad.

His forces also stole disputed areas in the north from the Kurds after Baghdad rejected a controversial Kurdish independence vote in September.

Baghdad has called for detainees to be handed over to the federal government but that "should be done under the supervision of the United Nations," Zebari said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/ar ... gners.html

Re: LAST NEWS ABOUT KIRKUK/KURDISTAN

PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 8:12 pm
Author: Anthea
Crime, insecurity rising in Kirkuk’s Kurdish quarters

Facing rising crime, Kurdish leaders and residents in Kirkuk report a security vacuum in Kurdish neighbourhoods of the city since it was taken over by Iraqi forces.

Kurds feel unsafe going out at night, fearing theft, killing, or abduction, Rudaw discovered in an investigative report on the situation in Kirkuk more than three months after the Kurdish forces departed the disputed city.

“The security establishments we had were run by political parties, and a security vacuum emerged after the parties left following the events of October 16. These implications in Kurdish areas are the result of this,” said Mohammed Nasradin, a Gorran official in Kirkuk.

“The security confusion is related to the political confusion,” he explained, adding that the solution to restoring security to Kirkuk is setting a new political agenda – one that is not driven by the interests of individual political parties.

Arabization is also a problem

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is “confronting Arabization every day,” said Rawand Mala Mahmud, deputy head of the party’s Kirkuk headquarters.

Civilians have also staged protests against Arabization, but have been shut down by security forces and face arrest.

The administration of acting Governor Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri are institution Arabization policies, said Adham Jumha, a protest organizer who was arrested for his work.

“They are doing the work in a very hasty manner. They have an opportunity during which they want to do this as soon as possible,” Jumha said.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/070220184