Iraqi Kurds mourn death of leader Talabani, symbol of unity

October 04, 2017

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Flags flew at half-staff across Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday as Iraqi Kurds began observing a week of mourning following the death of the country's former president, Jalala Talabani, once a symbol of unity.

Talabani's death at a Berlin hospital on Tuesday afternoon, at the age of 83, came just days after the Iraqi Kurds' controversial referendum on independence that has angered Baghdad and the region. A longtime Kurdish guerrilla leader, Talabani in 2005 became the head of state of what was supposed to be a new Iraq two years after the country was freed from the rule of Saddam Hussein. He was seen as a unifying elder statesman who could soothe tempers among Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

Talabani suffered a stroke in 2012, after which he was moved to Germany for treatment and faded from Iraq's political life. Sadi Ahmed Pire, a spokesman for the Kurdish party which Talabani headed, said on Wednesday that Talabani's burial would take place in the city of Sulaimaniyah over the weekend.

Following news of Talabani's passing, leaders across Iraq and beyond released statements expressing their condolences. Talabani was "a long standing figure in the fight against dictatorship and a sincere partner in building a new democratic Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday.

The Kurdish regional president and longtime Talabani rival, Masoud Barzani, described him as a "comrade" in a statement posted to Twitter, also on Tuesday. Barzani also extended his condolences to the Kurdish people and Talabani's family.

The United Nations described Talabani as "a leading voice of moderation, dialogue, mutual understanding and respect in Iraq's contemporary politics" and a "patriot of unique wisdom and foresight." "From the battlefront trenches in the 1980s during the struggle against dictatorship to the halls of power in Baghdad in the past decade, 'Mam Jalal' worked for and promoted national rights," said Jan Kubis, the U.N.'s special representative to Iraq in a written statement late Tuesday night, using Talabani's Kurdish nickname that translates to Uncle Jalal.

But the Sept. 25 Kurdish referendum reflected how hopes for a unified Iraq have faded over the years. At the time of the vote, Talabani had been out of politics for nearly five years, but his death was a reminder of the country's frayed sectarian and ethnic ties, now nearly at the point of unravelling.

The Kurds voted overwhelmingly in support of breaking from Iraq to form an independent state, sending tensions spiraling with the central government in Baghdad and with Iraq's neighbors, who fear similar Kurdish separatist sentiment on their soil.

The referendum vote, which was led by Barzani, is not expected to lead to a Kurdish state anytime soon and has further isolated the small land-locked region. Iraq and its neighbors have rejected the vote, and Baghdad has banned international flights and threatened to take control of the autonomous Kurdish region's borders.

"I wish I could ask Mam Jalal how to try and control this fire," said Pire, the spokesman for Talabani's political party, referring to the escalated tensions with Baghdad and the Kurdish region's neighbors stoked by the referendum vote.

"He was a singular figure that cannot be replaced," Pire added, "he was a president for all of Iraq, not just the Kurds." From Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed his condolences and said that "Talabani was definitely a distinguished figure," the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday.

Rouhani also said that Talabani "had an important role in the national cohesion and unity of Iraq, and strengthened the political process to promote Iraq's regional and international status." Talabani joined the Kurdish uprising against the Iraqi government in the 1960. When the revolt collapsed in 1975, he broke off from the Barzani-headed Kurdistan Democratic Party, or KDP, to form the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK.

Though united in the push for independence, Kurdish politics in Iraq remain to this day dominated by the two families: the Barzanis in Irbil and the Talabanis in Sulaimaniyah. In 1976, Talabani again took up arms against the central government and eventually joined forces with Iran in the Iran-Iraq war. In the late 1980s, Saddam launched the Anfal Campaign, in which more than 50,000 Kurds were killed, many by poison gas attacks.

Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Iraqi forces end phase 1 of Hawija offensive: command

Sep 24, 2017

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s military command said Sunday it completed a first phase of operations to recapture Islamic State’s last holdout in Kirkuk.

The Joint Operations Command’s field commander, Abdul-Amir Yarallah, said government forces, backed by the Popular Mobilization Forces, completed a first stage of operations recapture the town of Hawija, which launched last Thursday, taking over al-Zab river region,  the northern part of Makhoul mountains and several villages west of Tigris River.

So far, operations managed to retake the town of Shirqat, an IS stronghold in neighboring Salahuddin, and dozens of surrounding villages.

Parallel operations were launched last week targeting IS havens in western Anbar.

A wide-scale campaign launched with the backing of a U.S.-led coalition in 2016 to recapture areas occupied by IS since 2014, when the militants declared a self-styled “caliphate” rule in Iraq and neighboring Syria based in Iraq’s Mosul.

Iraqi government, coalition and paramilitary forces recaptured Mosul and the neighboring town of Tal Afar early July and late August.

Commanders say more than 200 militants have been killed in the current operations.

Source: Iraqi News.
Link: https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraqi-forces-end-phase-1-hawija-offensive/.

Iraqi Kurds vote in referendum on independence from Baghdad

September 25, 2017

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Kurds were casting ballots on Monday in Iraq's Kurdish region and disputed territories on whether to support independence from Baghdad in a historic but non-binding vote that has raised regional tensions and fears of instability.

More than 3 million people are expected to vote across the three provinces that make up the Kurdish autonomous region, as well as residents in disputed territories — areas claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurds, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk — according to the Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission, the body overseeing the vote.

Lines began forming early in the day at polling stations across Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital. Tahsin Karim was one of the first people to vote in his Irbil neighborhood. "Today we came here to vote in the referendum for the independence of Kurdistan," he said. "We hope that we can achieve independence."

The Kurdish region's president, Masoud Barzani, also voted early on Monday morning at a polling station packed with journalists and cameras. At a press conference in Irbil on the eve of the referendum, Barzani said he believed the vote would be peaceful, though he acknowledged that the path to independence would be "risky."

"We are ready to pay any price for our independence," he said. The referendum is being carried out despite mounting opposition from Baghdad and the international community. The United States, a key ally of Iraq's Kurds, has warned the vote will likely destabilize the region amid the fight with the Islamic State group. The Iraqi central government has also come out strongly against the referendum, demanding on Sunday that all airports and borders crossings in the Kurdish region be handed back to federal government control.

In a televised address from Baghdad on Sunday night, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that "the referendum is unconstitutional. It threatens Iraq, peaceful coexistence among Iraqis and is a danger to the region."

"We will take measures to safeguard the nation's unity and protect all Iraqis," he added. In a strongly worded statement, Turkey said on Monday that it doesn't recognize the referendum and declared its results would be "null and void."

Turkey's Foreign Ministry called on the international community and especially regional countries not to recognize the vote either and urged Iraq Kurdish leaders to abandon "utopic goals," accusing them of endangering peace and stability for Iraq and the whole region.

The ministry reiterated that Turkey would take all measures to thwart threats to its national security. On Saturday, Turkey's parliament met in an extraordinary session to extend a mandate allowing Turkey's military to send troops over its southern border if developments in Iraq and Syria are perceived as national security threats.

Initial results from the poll are expected on Tuesday, with the official results to be announced later in the week. At his press conference, Barzani also said that while the referendum will be the first step in a long process to negotiate independence, the region's "partnership" with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad is over.

He detailed the abuses Iraq's Kurds have faced by Iraqi forces, including killings at the hands of former leader Saddam Hussein's army that left more than 50,000 Kurds dead. Iraqi Kurds have long dreamed of independence — something the Kurdish people were denied when colonial powers drew the map of the Middle East after World War I. The Kurds form a sizable minority in Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. In Iraq, they have long been at odds with the Baghdad government over the sharing of oil revenues and the fate of disputed territories like Kirkuk.

The Kurds have been a close American ally for decades, and the first U.S. airstrikes in the campaign against IS were launched to protect Irbil. Kurdish forces later regrouped and played a major role in driving the extremists from much of northern Iraq, including Mosul, the country's second largest city.

But the U.S. has long been opposed to Kurdish moves toward independence, fearing it could lead to the breakup of Iraq and bring even more instability to an already volatile Middle East. In Baghdad, residents strongly criticized then referendum, saying it would raise sectarian tensions and create an "Israel in Iraq." An Arabic newspaper headline said "Kurdistan into the unknown," a reference to the name Kurds use for their region.

"This is a division of Iraq," said journalist Raad Mohammad while another Baghdad resident, Ali al-Rubayah, described the referendum as a "black day in the history of the Kurds." Lawyer Tariq al-Zubaydi said the referendum was inappropriate amid the "ongoing threat of terrorism and Islamic State" militants. "The country is going through a difficult period, this requires a coming together of our efforts, he said. "A unified country is better for all."

Voting was also underway on Monday morning in Kirkuk. The oil-rich city has large Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen and Christian communities and has seen some low-level clashes in the days leading up to Monday's vote.

"I feel so great and happy, I feel we'll be free," said Suad Pirot, a Kirkuk Kurdish resident, after voting. "Nobody will rule us, we will be independent."

Associated Press writers Ali Abdul-Hassan in Irbil, Iraq, Bram Janssen in Kirkuk, Iraq, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

Iraq begins operation to reclaim IS bastion Hawija

2017-09-21

BAGHDAD - Iraq has begun an offensive to retake Hawija, one of two remaining bastions of the Islamic State (IS) group in the country, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Thursday.

"At the dawn of a new day, we announce the launch of the first stage of the liberation of Hawija, in accordance with our commitment to our people to liberate all Iraqi territory and eradicate Daesh's terrorist groups," he said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"Greetings to all of our forces, who are waging several battles of liberation at the same time and who are winning victory after victory and this will be another, with the help of God," he said.

Iraqi forces have now forced IS out of all its Iraqi territories except Hawija, 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Baghdad, and several pockets of territory near the border with Syria. The town was one of the first areas to fall under IS control in 2014.

Artillery fire was heard Thursday morning, with the army heading towards Sharqat, southwest of Hawija, an AFP reporter said.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=84966.

Multi-ethnic Kirkuk tense ahead of referendum

2017-09-20

Visitors to Kirkuk in northern Iraq are greeted by an imposing statue of a Kurdish Peshmerga fighter with a gun slung over his shoulder, a reminder of tensions building in the hotly-contested city ahead of a referendum on Kurdish independence.

Erected in July, the statue has come to symbolize how the Kurds want to cement their hold on oil-rich Kirkuk and other parts of the region by holding next Monday's vote. Peshmerga, which means those who confront death, are the military forces of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The referendum is risky, especially in Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic city also claimed by Arabs since oil was discovered there in the 1930s. The Kurdistan region produces around 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.

The central government in Baghdad, Iraq's neighbors and Western powers fear the vote could divide the country and spark a wider regional conflict, after Arabs and Kurds cooperated to dislodge Islamic State from its stronghold in Mosul.

Already at least one Kurd has been killed in pre-referendum clashes, and security checkpoints have been erected across the city to prevent further violence.

But the Kurds say they are determined to go ahead with the vote, which, though non-binding, could trigger the process of separation in a country already divided along sectarian and ethnic lines. Iran, Turkey, the United States and Western allies oppose the vote.

Some non-Kurds fear Baghdad will attempt to regain control of Kirkuk and send in Shiite militias (PMU), also known as the Hashid al-Shaabi, stationed just outside the province.

"I fear the Hashid will come and fighting will start in Kirkuk," said Nazim Mohammed, an Arab from Mosul who fled to Kirkuk when the northern city was overrun by Islamic State.

Backed by Iran, the militias fear an independent Kurdistan would split Iraq, giving them and Tehran less influence.

Kirkuk, populated by Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians and other minorities, is one of 15 ethnically mixed areas in northern Iraq that will participate in the referendum. They are claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

A decision by KRG President Massoud Barzani to include these so-called disputed territories in the plebiscite was widely interpreted as a unilateral move to consolidate Kurdish control.

Critics say Kurdish intentions were already clear before the referendum was announced. Peshmerga fighters seized Kirkuk in 2014, after fleeing Iraqi security forces left its oil fields vulnerable to Islamic State militants who had just swept across northern Iraq.

The statue is dedicated to the Peshmerga and is designed to represent the appreciation of the people of Kirkuk.

KURDS MARK OUT TERRITORY

Tensions between the KRG and Baghdad are not new, and hinge on oil revenue. The Kurds have long accused Baghdad of failing to make budget payments to the region, while central government has opposed oil deals made by the Kurds without its consent.

Nevertheless, the Kurds have been marking their territory in the run-up to the vote. Peshmerga outposts dot the area, protecting the flaming oil fields on Kirkuk's outskirts. Kurdish flags have been hoisted across the city since the spring, and now fly alongside Iraqi flags on government buildings.

Dreaming of long-denied statehood since World War One, the Kurds say they are ready to fight if necessary. "Kurdistan's land belongs to the Kurdish people," Kemal al-Kirkuki, the Kurdish military commander responsible for the front-line against Islamic State, told Reuters at his base in Dibis.

"No one, not the PMU, has the right to take it ... We will ask them to leave Kurdish territory, peacefully. But we are prepared to fight if we need to."

On Monday, clashes broke out in Kirkuk after a Kurdish convoy celebrating the referendum drove by a Turkmen political party's office. A Kurd was killed, and two others were injured, security sources said.

This followed a week of escalating rhetoric between the Kurdish leadership and Baghdad, where parliament voted to reject the referendum and oust Kirkuk's Kurdish governor, Najmaddin Kareem.

The conflict over the disputed territories is bitter. If the Kurdistan region of Iraq declared a break-off from Baghdad, Kirkuk would fall right on the border between the two. Kirkuk produces around one quarter of the region's oil.

"If the Kurds want to press for a separation of sorts," said Joost Hiltermann, MENA programme director at the International Crisis Group, "the boundary question becomes critically important."

"If Baghdad and Erbil continue to take unilateral steps," he said, "things can only escalate".

There are no reliable statistics on Kirkuk's population, where both Kurds and Arabs say they have a demographic majority; vital to legitimize their respective claims over the province.

RETURNING KURDS

Kirkuk was meant to have a census under the 2005 constitution, drafted two years after former Iraqi leader Saddam was toppled in the US-led invasion, but it did not take place because of the risk of ethnic and religious tensions.

During Saddam's Anfal campaign waged against the Kurds in the 1980s, there was a forced "Arabisation" of disputed areas, which ejected Kurds from the province. Arabs from other parts of Iraq were then settled, taking over Kurdish homes and businesses.

In 1988, Saddam caused international outrage by staging a chemical attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja which killed thousands of people.

Many Arabs have been ousted since Saddam was toppled in 2003, emboldening the Kurds to reclaim large parts of the disputed territories, including Kirkuk. Displaced Kurds were provided with incentives to return, while Kurds from other areas were also moved in, angering other minorities.

"Since 2003 some 600,000 Kurds have arrived, many of them are here illegally," said Ali Mehdi Sadiq, a Turkman member of Kirkuk's local council. "Without dialogue everything is possible. We need to avoid a war engulfing the whole of Iraq."

"NOTHING COMES WITHOUT A PRICE"

He blamed Governor Kareem, a Kurd who lived for more than 30 years in the United States for what he called a Kurdish discrimination of minorities.

The governor said the Kurds would guarantee minorities' rights, pointing to relative stability in the Kurdistan region in contrast to Baghdad where suicide bombings are frequent.

But his support for Kurdish independence is worrying minorities: he refused to sit behind an Iraqi flag during an interview, preferring the Kurdish one and said he would destroy his Iraqi passport the minute he got a Kurdish one.

He shrugged off the decision by Iraq's parliament last week to sack him as "unlawful", adding: "This is a proud day for me."

Anticipating trouble ahead, some residents of Kirkuk have been stockpiling basic foods such as flour, rice and milk.

"Since they announced the referendum I have hardly had any customers. The market is dead," said 27-year-old Ali Hamza, an Arab who has a small textiles shop in the old city.

Several Kurds interviewed supported the independence vote but privately said they were worried about clashes afterwards.

But faced with his people's fears of clashes and economic problems, Governor Kareem said that when taking a big step like the referendum, "anything was possible".

"Nothing comes without a price."

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=84950.

Iraq says may use force if Kurdish referendum turns violent

September 17, 2017

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq is prepared to intervene militarily if the Kurdish region's planned independence referendum results in violence, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Saturday.

If the Iraqi population is "threatened by the use of force outside the law, then we will intervene militarily," he said. Iraq's Kurdish region plans to hold the referendum on support for independence from Iraq on Sept. 25 in three governorates that make up their autonomous region, and in disputed areas controlled by Kurdish forces but which are claimed by Baghdad.

"If you challenge the constitution and if you challenge the borders of Iraq and the borders of the region, this is a public invitation to the countries in the region to violate Iraqi borders as well, which is a very dangerous escalation," al-Abadi said.

The leaders of Iraq's Kurdish region have said they hope the referendum will push Baghdad to come to the negotiating table and create a path for independence. However, al-Abadi said such negotiations would likely be complicated by the referendum vote.

"It will make it harder and more difficult," he said, but added, "I will never close the door to negotiations. Negotiations are always possible." Iraq's Kurds have come under increasing pressure to call off the vote from regional powers and the United States, a key ally, as well as Baghdad.

In a statement released late Friday night the White House called for the Kurdish region to abandon the referendum "and enter into serious and sustained dialogue with Baghdad." "Holding the referendum in disputed areas is particularly provocative and destabilizing," the statement read.

Tensions between Irbil and Baghdad have flared in the lead-up to the Sept. 25 vote. Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, has repeatedly threatened violence if Iraqi troops or Shiite militias attempt to move into disputed territories that are now under the control of Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga, specifically the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

"It's chaotic there," Muhammad Mahdi al-Bayati, a senior leader of Iraq's mostly Shiite militiamen, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, said earlier this week, describing Kirkuk in the lead-up to the vote.

Al-Bayati's forces — sanctioned by Baghdad, but many with close ties to Iran — are deployed around Kirkuk as well as other disputed territories in Iraq's north. "Everyone is under pressure," he said, explaining that he feared a rogue group of fighters could trigger larger clashes. "Anything could be the spark that burns it all down."

Al-Abadi said he is focused on legal responses to the Kurdish referendum on independence. Earlier this week Iraq's parliament rejected the referendum in a vote boycotted by Kurdish lawmakers. Iraq's Kurds have long held a dream of statehood. They were brutally oppressed under Saddam Hussein, whose military in the 1980s killed at least 50,000 of them, many with chemical weapons. Iraq's Kurds established a regional government in 1992 after the U.S. enforced a no-fly zone across the north following the Gulf War.

After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam, the region secured constitutional recognition of its autonomy, but remained part of the Iraqi state. When asked if he would ever accept an independent Kurdistan, Al-Abadi said, "It's not up to me, this is a constitutional" matter.

"If (Iraq's Kurds) want to go along that road, they should work toward amending the constitution," al-Abadi said. "In that case we have to go all the way through parliament and a referendum to the whole Iraqi people.

"For them to call for only the Kurds to vote, I think this is a hostile move toward the whole of the Iraqi population," he said. Al-Abadi began his term as prime minister after Mosul had fallen to IS, plunging Iraq into the deepest political and security crisis since the sectarian bloodshed that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Over the past three years, Iraqi forces have slowly clawed back territory from the extremist group and al-Abadi has used the battlefield victories to garner public support. In July, Iraqi forces retook Mosul and effectively shattered IS's self-declared territorial caliphate.

However the military successes have come at great cost. In the fight for Mosul alone between 970 and 1,260 civilians were killed and more than twice as many members of Iraq's security forces lost their lives, al-Abadi told the AP Saturday.

Despite territorial losses, IS continues to carry out attacks in Iraq. Thursday, an attack claimed by IS at a checkpoint and restaurant in southern Iraq left more than 80 killed and 93 wounded. Years of war have displaced more than 3 million people. Cities, towns and villages retaken from IS lie in ruins and the forces made powerful by the arms and training that flooded Iraq to fight the extremists are now attempting to leverage that influence.

Despite the challenges ahead, al-Abadi repeated a call for Iraqis who fled the country over the past three years, to return home. Some 80,000 Iraqis made the treacherous journey to Europe by sea in 2015 alone, according to the United Nations.

"I'm not going to support forced repatriation into Iraq but I think all of Iraqis, they found it very tough to be in Europe as refugees," al-Abadi said, explaining he is in "lengthy negotiations" with his counterparts in Europe to aid the return of refugees.

"These are Iraqi people. We don't want to lose our citizens," he said.

Iraqi parliament votes against Kurdish independence referendum

by Mohamed Mostafa
Sep 12, 2017

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi parliament voted Tuesday against a planned referendum by Kurdistan Region Government on independence from Iraq, obliging the Iraqi government to take measures to “preserve the unity of Iraq”.

The session was attended by 204 of parliament’s 328 members.

“The Iraqi Constitution had enumerated issues for which a referendum is required, and those do not include the Kurdistan referendum,” parliament speaker Salim al-Jubouri said in a statement by his office. “The inclusion of disputed territories in the referendum is also a violation of the constitution,” the statement added.

The negative vote prompted Kurdish representatives to walk out of the chamber.

Sirwan Sereni, a Kurdish representative from the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) told Kurdish network Rudaw that the petition which was voted on and approved by the parliament contains “military measures” against the move. He said they “were not consulted with or informed of the petition in the first place, and when a hearing given to the petition “we were not allowed to comment on it.”

Kurdistan Region slated a vote on independence from the central government in Baghdad for September 25th, and has, since then, defied calls from Baghdad to postpone the measure.

Kurdistan gained autonomous governance based on the 2005 constitution, but is still considered a part of Iraq. The region was created in 1970 based on an agreement with the Iraqi government, ending years of conflicts.

Baghdad has maintained that the planned poll was unconstitutional, and a political crisis erupted when Kurds included oil-rich Kirkuk, a disputed territory, as a voting constituency.

Source: Iraqi News.
Link: http://www.iraqinews.com/baghdad-politics/iraqi-parliament-votes-kurdish-independence-referendum/.

Thirteen Arab and Turkmen Parites in Kirkuk Oppose Kurdish Referendum

September 10, 2017 Sunday

SULAIMANI — Thirteen Arab and Turkmen political parties in the city of Kirkuk issued a statement on Sunday (September 10) expressing their opposition to the referendum on the independence of Kurdistan, just two weeks ahead of the vote.

A plan by Kurdish authorities towards an independent state does not comply with the Iraqi constitution and that risks the country’s unity, the statement read.

The Arab political parties said a recent session held by the Kirkuk Provincial Council to include the city in the independence referendum lacked legal legitimacy as it was boycotted by Arab and Turkmen sides.

“The decision [to include Kirkuk in the referendum] is in the extension of the autocracy that is still being implemented in Kirkuk and surrounding areas since 2003,” the statement continued.

The move to declare a Kurdish independent state will hinder effort to dislodge Islamic State (ISIS) militants, the Arab political parties said, calling on the three Iraqi presidencies not to allow the referendum to take place in Kirkuk.

A total of 22 members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council voted in favor of Kirkuk’s involvement in the referendum. Turkmen and Arab blocs, however, boycotted the session.

The Kurdistan Region declared on June 7 a plan to hold a referendum on the region’s independence this year on September 25. The announcement came following a meeting between the region’s political parties, not including the Gorran and Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG).

Source: NRT.
Link: http://www.nrttv.com/en/Details.aspx?Jimare=16478.

Slow recovery for Iraq's Mosul after Daesh ouster

Sep 09,2017

MOSUL, Iraq — Two months since Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from the Daesh terror group extremists, Mohammed Seddiq's bullet-riddled car is still off the road and his fruit and vegetable shop has yet to reopen.

Much of Iraq's second city lies in ruins and many businesses are still at a standstill, even those that produced the famous muslin cotton fabric for which Mosul was renowned before the extremists seized it in 2014.

Three years ago, Seddiq, 32, owned two cars, but the extremists set fire to one and the other was damaged by mortar shells and bullets.

With all the garages still closed in his west Mosul neighborhood, he sought out a mechanic in the industrial zone in the city's east which was less severely damaged by fighting.

He expects the repairs to cost $1,000. In the meantime he will have to pay for taxis using his savings because "the state has announced that it will reimburse for cars and houses, but up to now nothing" has been paid.

Many of the cars awaiting repairs at Ghezwan Aqil's workshop were damaged when bulldozer-driving extremists used them to form barricades against advancing Iraqi troops.

Their owners cannot afford to buy new cars and are prepared to wait one or two months for the repairs instead.

Aqil says that sometimes he will reduce a customer's bill by half depending on their circumstances.

Even after Mosul’s recapture life is uncertain and insecurity is rife.

“There have been many burglaries,” says taxi driver Mohammed Salem.

“And people have been detained by unidentified groups. No one knows what happened to them,” the 33-year-old adds.

“There are regular problems between the various armed forces, especially the paramilitary units,” Hossam Eddine Al Abbar, a member of the provincial council of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, tells AFP.

The presence of the Hashed Al Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary units, dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, has stirred tensions in the Sunni-majority city.

Without genuine reconciliation between communities, there are fears that the country could once again descend into violence.

“The best way to control [armed groups] is to integrate them into the regular forces that enjoy much more trust among citizens than paramilitary forces,” Abbar said.

Omar Al Allaf, a local tribal dignitary who oversees Hashed Al Shaabi units, rejects the idea.

His men will never join the police because “they are infiltrated by terrorists”, he says.

In 2014, as Daesh staged a rapid advance across northern Iraq, police and military personnel abandoned their posts to the extremists with barely a fight.

That allowed the group to establish its “caliphate” across parts of Syria and a third of Iraq’s territory including Mosul.

Today, many police in the Iraqi city are demanding their reinstatement, but the process of identification and investigation of each one takes time, Abbar said.

“More than 13,000 policemen have yet to return to their jobs despite our requests to the authorities in Baghdad,” he added.

Mosul’s famed Old City was reduced to rubble by the fighting and the iconic leaning minaret of its Al Nuri Mosque, the image of which adorns the 10,000 dinar note, left in ruins.

For many of Mosul’s displaced, it is impossible to envisage a return to a city where, in addition to finding nothing left of their previous life, they risk losing more.

In the past year, a million Iraqis have fled their homes in Nineveh province.

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/slow-recovery-iraq%E2%80%99s-mosul-after-daesh-ouster.

Iraq: Car bombing at busy Baghdad market kills 12 people

August 28, 2017

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb ripped through a busy market area in eastern Baghdad on Monday morning, killing at least 12 people, Iraqi officials said. The explosives-laden car went off at the wholesale Jamila market in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City, a police officer said. The explosion also wounded 28 other people, he added, saying the death toll was expected to rise further.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists. A plume of thick black smoke billowed from the area and people were running away in panic. At the site, twisted metal and shards of glass littered the pavement, along with vegetables and other goods sold at the market.

"It was a thunderous explosion," said Hussein Kadhim, a 35-year old porter and father of three who was wounded in his right leg. "It sounds that the security situation is still uncontrollable and I'm afraid that such bombings will make a comeback."

At least one soldier was seen being evacuated from the scene, which was sealed off by security forces. The Islamic State group quickly claimed responsibility in an online statement on its media arms, the Aamaq news agency. The Associated Press could not verify the authenticity of the statement. Sunni militants consider Shiites to be apostates and Shiite-dominated areas are prime targets for IS.

The bombing came as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces are in final stages of recapturing the northern town of Tal Afar from IS, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Syria's border. On Sunday, Iraqi military said it had "fully liberated" Tal Afar's town center from IS militants. On Monday, the troops fought at the outskirts of al-Ayadia district, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Tal Afar, where most of the militants fled.

Tal Afar was one of the few remaining towns in Iraq still in IS hands following the liberation of Mosul in July from the Islamic State group. The Sunni militant group still controls the northern town of Hawija, as well as Qaim, Rawa and Ana, in western Iraq near the Syrian border.

Associated Press writer Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad and Maamoun Yousef in Cairo contributed to this report.

Iraqi forces make gains in Tal Afar offensive

2017-08-24

BAGHDAD - Iraqi forces made further gains in their offensive to dislodge Islamic State from Tal Afar, seizing five more villages on the eastern and southern outskirts of the city, the military said on Thursday.

In the fifth day of their onslaught, Iraqi forces continued to encircle jihadists holding out in the city in far northwestern Iraq close to the Syrian border, according to statements from the Iraqi joint operations command.

Within the city limits, Iraqi forces captured three more neighborhoods - al-Nour and al-Mo'allameen in the east and al-Wahda in the west, taking over several strategic buildings in the process.

The advances were the latest in the campaign to rout the militants from one of their last remaining strongholds in Iraq, three years after they seized wide swathes of the north and west in a shock offensive. On Tuesday, the army and counter-terrorism units broke into Tal Afar from the east and south.

The main forces taking part in the offensive are the Iraqi army, air force, Federal Police, the elite US-trained Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) and some units from the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) that began encircling the city on Sunday.

About three quarters of Tal Afar remains under militant control including the Ottoman-era citadel at its center, according to an operational map published by the Iraqi military.

Located 80 km (50 miles) west of Mosul, Tal Afar lies along the supply route between that city - which Iraqi forces retook from IS in July after nine months of fighting - and Syria.

Tal Afar has produced some of IS's most senior commanders and was cut off from the rest of IS-held territory in June.

Up to 2,000 battle-hardened militants remain in Tal Afar, according to US and Iraqi military commanders. Between 10,000 and 40,000 civilians are estimated to remain in the city and its surrounding villages.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://middle-east-online.com/english/?id=84535.

40,000 troops preparing to take Iraqi town from Daesh

August 16, 2017

Some 40,000 Iraqi troops are preparing for military operations to retake the Iraqi town of Tal Afar from Daesh, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Iraqi authorities have announced that the town, located 80 kilometers west of Mosul, will be the next target in the war against Daesh following the recapture of Mosul.

Tal Afar, which had a population of 200,000, has seen intense aerial bombardment to clear the way for ground troops to retake the town completely. At dawn today US planes stepped up air raids ahead of a ground offensive to drive out the 1,500-2,000 Daesh fighters currently in the area.

Following the announcement, armored and elite units were said to be heading towards the Tal Afar which is some 70 kilometers from the Turkish border.

A coalition of different security personnel that includes the police, the military and various fighting units has gathered according to Iraqi military officials. Disputes regarding the participation of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a state-sponsored umbrella organisation composed of some 40 militias that have been accused of committing numerous human rights abuse on the battlefield, have not been resolved.

Turkey, which has a close affinity with Tal Afar’s predominantly ethnic Turkmen population, opposes the involvement of Shia paramilitary groups fighting with Iraqi forces, some of which are also backed by Iran. The sight of the build-up of troops not too far from the Turkish border may cause further irritation to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has previously said that the involvement of Shia militia was a “red-line”.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170816-40000-troops-preparing-to-take-iraqi-town-from-daesh/.

Not all Kurds on board with Kurdish independence vote

Fazel Hawramy
August 10, 2017

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — The majority of Kurdish parties agreed June 7 to hold a referendum for independence in September. While outside pressure to stop the controversial referendum has been constant, the deadliest blow might, however, come from within. Ordinary Kurds, in particular those in Sulaimaniyah, are angry about the government's mismanagement of the economy, and many appear ready to express their dissatisfaction in their approach to the referendum.

Over the last two months, Al-Monitor has spoken with several dozen people, primarily in Sulaimaniyah, to gauge their views on the upcoming referendum. Those interviewed include police officers, teachers, peshmerga, shopkeepers, taxi drivers and civil servants, the overwhelming majority of whom reject the referendum outright. They consider it a ploy by the current leadership to distract attention from its failure to efficiently run the government and manage the economy for the last 25 years, since the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 1992.

Sulaimaniyah, nestled between several mountain ranges, is the largest province in Iraqi Kurdistan, the other two being Dahuk and Erbil. Sulaimaniyah is home to around 2 million of the region's total indigenous population of 5.2 million people. The anger and frustration among them is palpable.

“Why should I vote yes in the referendum?” Shaho Mahyaddin, a father of two, asked rhetorically. “After 17 years of being a traffic police officer, what do I have? No electricity. No water. I have no house or investment. I have nothing. The only thing I had was my salary [$980 a month], but over the last two years, they have cut it by more than 30%. How can I feed two children on that amount?"

Reeling from low oil prices, the KRG last year resorted to cutting the salaries of public sector employees — a bloated 1.4 million-person workforce — by up to 65% to counter the economic meltdown. The move had serious adverse effects for the economy, including a decline in purchasing power. Traders in the bazaar, already hit hard by the economic crisis, are now also worried about the possible impact of the upcoming referendum.

“People are buying only essential goods, such as flour and rice, because they are worried about the day after the referendum,” said Dashtawan, an assistant in a shop selling kitchen wares. “This July was the worst month in terms of trading in the bazaar for me, even worse than when Daesh attacked,” referring to the Islamic State offensive in summer 2014. Dashtawan said that with only few exceptions, the majority of the people he knows in the bazaar are angry about the economy and are very likely to vote no at the polls.

“We have had this business since 1953, but it has never been this bad,” said Najat, who has worked in his father’s tea house in Sulaimaniyah's main bazaar since he was 15. Najat said his business has been in decline for the last three years, since Baghdad and Erbil began having serious disputes.

“I used to sell about 400 teas per day, but now it is around 120,” said Najat, as he poured tea for the only customer in the little tea house. “Despite this, I will vote yes in the referendum, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and we should not miss it.”

Many civil servants have spent their savings since early 2014, when Baghdad refused to disburse Kurdistan's share of funding in the national budget, and salaries were cut. With no social security net, many residents are anxious about the negative impact of the referendum. Teachers are one group that has been particularly hit by the financial crisis, with cuts to their salaries of almost 70%.

“I will go to the polls, and I will mark a resolute no,” said Nesar, a primary schoolteacher from Halabja who has taught for 18 years. “The government has slashed my salary of $900 by 65%.” When Al-Monitor asked whether he would vote yes if the government reinstated his salary, he responded, “No, because I have no trust whatsoever in the current leadership.”

It is ironic that under the British and other regimes in Iraq, the people of Sulaimaniyah have always been rebellious, including at the forefront of the independence movements, but 25 years of Kurdish rule have turned them against a referendum for independence. During parliamentary elections in September 1930, the Kurds of Sulaimaniyah called on the British government, which held the League of Nations mandate over Iraq, to allow them to create an independent state as a British protectorate so they would not be at the mercy of an Arab king in Baghdad.

When the Sulaimaniyah Kurds realized the futility of their effort, anger grew toward the British and what the Kurds saw as their betrayal. Rejecting Baghdad Arab rule, they poured into the streets while most of the rest of Kurdistan remained silent. By the end of election day, 14 residents were dead and many more wounded, killed or injured at the hands of British and Iraqi forces.

In the second half of the 20th century, the people of Sulaimaniyah rebelled several more times. Ordinary Kurds were only too happy to name their children after a famous peshmerga commander or a battle that the peshmerga won against the Iraqi army. They have supported the peshmerga with whatever they could, but many are now scratching their heads and looking for answers to what went wrong. These days it is difficult to mention the name of a certain former peshmerga commander turned politician and not elicit a curse from the average Kurd. The people today despise or have no patience for their Kurdish rulers.

“The main problem is the trust between the public and the political elite,” said Abdulbaset Ismail, who fought for four years as a peshmerga commander against the Iraqi army in the 1980s. “We fought to free the Kurds from the yoke of the Iraqi state, but I never thought we would create this mess.”

Ismail, whose nom de guerre in the mountain was Halo Soor, is driving a taxi these days in Erbil and has difficulty making ends meet. He had commanded a unit of 26 peshmerga in the mountains, 24 of whom lost their life fighting the Iraqi army in the pursuit of Kurdish independence.

“Don't get me wrong. I am all for independence, but not under the banner of these thieves,” Ismail said. Asked if he would vote on Sept. 25, he replied, “I’d rather cut off my index finger than vote in the referendum.”

Source: al-Monitor.
Link: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/08/sulaymaniyah--kurdistan-referendum-independence-iraq.html.

Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power Inaugurates $1Bn Power Plant in Turkey

Tuesday, 28 November, 2017

Saudi-based Acwa Power has announced the launch of the $1-billion Kirikkale Combined Cycle Power Plant in Turkey which has a 1,000 MW capacity, enough to meet three percent of the country's total electricity demand.

The project was officially launched at a major ceremony held at the Presidential Complex in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Berat Albayrak, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources besides other senior officials.

It is located in the municipality of Kiliclar in the Yahsihan District, 15km from Kirikkale City Center and 50km east of Ankara.

“The inauguration of this project is a clear sign of the growth and modernization in Turkey, which is making the country set for continued development,” Acwa Power Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan said.

The plant is the first and largest of Saudi energy investments in Turkey’s power sector. Abunayyan said that it stressed Acwa Power’s role in boosting Saudi foreign investment base in the economic, strategic and investment sectors, in line with requirements of Saudi Vision 2030 and its objectives.

“We applaud the Turkish authorities on delivering a key infrastructure project to drive the economy forward for future generations,” he added.

For his part, Managing Director at ACWA Power Thamer al-Sharhan said that achieving this significant milestone has only been possible through the support extended by various institutes, including Energy Ministry, Regulator (EPDK), TEIAS, Kirikkale Governor and Municipality.

“This project is an ideal example of the power of public-private partnerships in fulfilling national ambitions,” Sharhan said.

Notably, the Kırıkkale Power Plant will provide a steady and reliable energy to Turkey’s national grid.

The project is also among the top three most efficient combined cycle gas power plants in Turkey, significantly contributing to the country’s economy through savings in gas consumption.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.
Link: https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1097416/saudi-arabia%E2%80%99s-acwa-power-inaugurates-1bn-power-plant-turkey.

Kosovo top opposition leader, 2 other lawmakers arrested

November 24, 2017

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo police on Friday arrested a top opposition leader and two other lawmakers accused of disrupting the work of the previous parliament with tear gas and violent acts. Albin Kurti, Donika Kadaj Bujupi and Albulena Haxhiu of the left-wing Self-Determination Party were arrested while entering the parliament building.

Police used tear gas to disperse some opposition supporters trying to block their minivan that was taking Kurti. Visar Ymeri, leader of the Self-Determination Party, denounced the "brutal arrest of the three lawmakers based on political orders" and considered it "continuation of the overall persecution of Self-Determination during recent times."

Since the signing of a border demarcation agreement with Montenegro in August 2015 the opposition has contested it, saying Kosovo is ceding territory — a claim denied by the previous government and international experts. The protesters disrupted parliamentary work, using tear gas canisters, blowing whistles and throwing water bottles.

Approval of the deal is a pre-condition for a visa-free regime for Kosovo citizens in the European Union's Schengen countries. Political tension in the country remains high over who won mayoral election last month. It is not yet clear whether Self-Determination will keep the mayor's post in the capital Pristina or it will go to the other now-opposition Democratic League of Kosovo.

Another aching issue is a special court established to prosecute crimes committed during and immediately after Kosovo's 1998-1999 war with Serbia for independence. It is expected to issue indictments against former independence fighters.

Associated Press writer Llazar Semini contributed from Tirana, Albania.

Spring wedding at Windsor Castle for Prince Harry and Markle

November 28, 2017

LONDON (AP) — It will be a spring wedding on the glorious grounds of Windsor Castle for love-struck Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Royal officials — thrilled with the international response to news of the couple's engagement, and the positive reaction to their first ever TV appearance — revealed a few key details Tuesday but kept mum on others, such as who will be Harry's best man?

The wedding will be in May, but the date has not been chosen, Harry's communications secretary, Jason Knauf, told a packed briefing at Buckingham Palace. "In a happy moment in their lives, it means a great deal to them that so many people throughout the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world are celebrating with them," he said before fielding questions about things like how many of Markle's rescue dogs would move to Britain with her.

Knauf said Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had given permission for the couple to wed at St. George's Chapel, the historic church on the Windsor Castle grounds that has long been a touchstone for royal rites of passage. He said the 91-year-old monarch will attend the wedding.

Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of the queen's favorite residences. St. George's, the 15th-century chapel where the couple will wed, is more intimate than Westminster Abbey, where Harry's older brother, William, married Kate Middleton in 2011.

Knauf said Windsor "is a very special place for Prince Harry," and that he and Markle have regularly spent time there since they began dating about a year and a half ago. He said the wedding "will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom."

The image-conscious royals also made clear in a statement that the royal family, not British taxpayers, will foot the bill for what is expected to be a grand extravaganza. The family will pay for the church service, the music, the flowers, the decorations and the reception that follows.

Harry's press team is keeping some details private for the moment — perhaps because final decisions have not been made. It's also not clear who will be Harry's best man, though older brother William would seem to be a strong contender.

Knauf also would not say whether Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will preside over the service. And as for what titles will be given to Harry and Markle, that will be decided by the queen and revealed at a later date.

The palace was ready to answer some delicate questions about the 36-year-old Markle's move to Britain and her taking up a senior role in the royal family, sometimes called "the firm." Knauf said she will comply with all immigration requirements and will become a British citizen, a process that may take several years, and will retain her U.S. citizenship throughout the process.

He did not say whether she would drop her U.S. citizenship at some point. Asked about her religion, Knauf said Markle is a Protestant who will be baptized in the Church of England, which is headed by the queen in a largely ceremonial role.

Markle's personal belongings are being shipped from Canada, where she has lived for seven years while performing in the TV legal drama "Suits," to Nottingham Cottage, where she and Harry will live. The cottage is located on the grounds of Kensington Palace in central London.

She has already brought one of her two rescue pups, Guy, but the other — Bogart — is being left behind and will reside permanently with "good friends," Knauf said. The union of the 33-year-old prince and Markle, an accomplished TV actress in her own right, represents a blending of Hollywood and royalty that is expected to draw an international audience — officials said it is a safe assumption that the service will be televised.

The couple will carry out their first official engagement on Friday, visiting a youth charity and a World AIDS Day event in Nottingham in central England. For Markle, it will be a first taste of life as a working royal.

Markle's divorced status would once have barred her from marrying the prince in church. Harry's father Prince Charles, who is heir to the British throne, married his wife Camilla in a low-key civil ceremony in 2005 because both bride and groom were divorced.

Camilla said Tuesday she was "delighted" her stepson was marrying the U.S. actress. "America's loss is our gain," she said. Newspapers hailed news of the engagement as a breath of fresh air and symbol of a modernizing monarchy.

The Daily Telegraph said in an editorial: "A divorced, mixed-race Hollywood actress who attended a Roman Catholic school is to marry the son of the next king. Such a sentence could simply not have been written a generation ago."

Cheering Zimbabweans greet country's new leader Mnangagwa

November 24, 2017

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Exuberant Zimbabweans greeted the swearing-in Friday of new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who takes power after an extraordinary series of events that ousted the world's oldest head of state.

Mnangagwa, fired earlier this month as vice president, will lead after the resignation of 93-year-old Robert Mugabe, who succumbed to pressure to quit from the military, the ruling party and massive demonstrations amid fears his unpopular wife would succeed him.

A smiling Mnangagwa greeted a stadium crowd of tens of thousands with a raised fist, and he promised to devote himself to the well-being of the people. The military, fresh from putting Mugabe under house arrest just days ago, quickly swore its loyalty to the new leader.

Mnangagwa, a former justice and defense minister, was a key Mugabe confidant for decades until they fell out because of the presidential ambitions of Mugabe's wife, Grace. Despite his long association with the government that has presided over Zimbabwe's decline, including economic collapse and human rights abuses, Mnangagwa has promised democracy and reached out to other countries for help.

Mugabe, one of Africa's last remaining liberation leaders, quit Tuesday amid impeachment proceedings. In the end, he was isolated and showing few of the political skills that kept him in power for 37 years and made him a prominent but polarizing figure on the world stage. He had led since Zimbabwe's independence from white minority rule in 1980.

Mugabe did not attend Friday's swearing-in, and ruling party officials have said he will remain in Zimbabwe with their promise that he is "safe" and his legacy as a "hero" will stand after his fight for an independent Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper reported that Mnangagwa assured Mugabe and his family of their "maximum security." The report said the two men agreed Mugabe would not attend Friday because he "needed time to rest."

Some people ahead of the inauguration began to dance in the stadium stands. Banners erected in read "Dawn of a new era" and "No to retribution," even as human rights activists began to report worrying details of attacks on close allies of the former first lady and their families. Mnangagwa has warned against "vengeful retribution."

Tendai Lesayo held a small Zimbabwean flag as she sold drinks from a cooler outside the stadium. She said she would welcome a fresh start, saying "life now is impossible." Elsewhere in the capital, long lines formed outside banks, a common sight in a nation struggling with cash shortages and other severe economic problems that the new president will have to confront.

"Right now, nothing has really changed for me. I still cannot get my money from the bank," said Amon Mutora, who had been in line since 6 am. "Attending the inauguration will not bring food for my family," said Kelvin Fungai, a 19-year-old selling bananas from a cart. Many young people are well-educated but jobless, reduced to street vending to survive. Others have left the country.

Elsewhere, there were signs of hope amid the uncertainty. Black market rates for cash have tumbled since Mugabe left office. Before he stepped down, one had to deposit $170 into a black market dealer's bank account to get $100 cash. On Friday, $100 cash was selling for between $140 and $150.

As the inauguration crowds streamed by, Sharon Samuriwo sat on a ledge, watching. She said she hoped Mnangagwa would learn from the errors of his predecessor, and she acknowledged that the path ahead for Zimbabwe is unknown.

Still, "after 37 years, we've got someone different."

Kenyatta Sworn in for Second Term as Kenya President amid Opposition Outcry

Tuesday, 28 November, 2017

President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in on Tuesday for a second term as president of Kenya as the opposition planned to hold a rally to protest the vote outcome.

Kenyatta won a repeat presidential election on October 26 that was boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair.

The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election, on August 8, over irregularities.

His swearing in for a second five-year term brought rapturous celebrations from his supporters as riot police sealed off an area where the opposition planned a rival gathering.

“I ... do swear ... that I will always truly and diligently serve the people of the Republic of Kenya,” Kenyatta said.

Before he arrived, a military band in gold and blue uniforms serenaded heads of state from Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Zambia and other nations as they arrived at the stadium where the ceremony took place.

More than 60,000 Kenyatta supporters, many clad in the red and yellow Jubilee party colors and carrying Kenyan flags, filled the stadium benches.

Thousands of others waited outside. Some, chafing at the restrictions, overwhelmed police and streamed in. Officers were forced to fire teargas to control them.

The extended election season has divided Kenya, a Western ally in a volatile region, and blunted growth in East Africa’s richest economy.

Odinga’s supporters, many drawn from poorer parts of the country, feel locked out of power and the patronage it brings.

Political arguments often have ethnic undercurrents, with Odinga’s supporters pointing out that three of the country’s four presidents have come from one ethnic group, although the country has 44 recognized groups.

But such arguments seemed far from the happy crowds at the celebration, who cheered wildly as Kenyatta was sworn into office and as he received a 21-gun salute.

“I’m sure Uhuru will be able to bring people together and unite them so we can all work for the country,” said Eunice Jerobon, a trader who traveled overnight from the Rift Valley town of Kapsabet for the inauguration, before the disturbance.

But Odinga supporters say such talk of unity is tantamount to surrender. They accuse the ruling party of stealing the election, rampant corruption, directing abuse by the security forces and neglecting vast swathes of the country, including Odinga’s heartland in the west.

“A return to the political backwardness of our past is more than unacceptable. It is intolerable ... This divide cannot be bridged by dialogue and compromise,” Odinga’s National Super Alliance opposition alliance said in a statement.

The opposition planned to hold a prayer meeting in the capital on Tuesday, saying it wanted to commemorate the lives of Odinga supporters killed during confrontations with the security forces over the election period.

A witness said one person was shot dead as Kenyan police tried to block opposition supporters from holding the memorial.

More than 70 people have been killed in political violence this election season, mostly by the police. Such killings are rarely investigated. Human rights groups and others say nearly 100 people have been killed since the election that was nullified by the Supreme Court.

A Reuters team at the scene of the planned rally said the area had been sealed off by seven truck loads of police in riot gear. Two water cannons were standing by and a helicopter hovered overhead.

Police began firing teargas in nearby residential areas two hours before the rally was due to start, apparently attempting to prevent opposition supporters from gathering.

Several roads were blocked by burning tires, rocks, glass and uprooted billboards. Police shot in the air to disperse anyone trying to gather.

But Dennis Onyango, a spokesman for Odinga, told Reuters on Tuesday morning they were still planning to hold the rally.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.
Link: https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1097286/kenyatta-sworn-second-term-kenya-president-amid-opposition-outcry.

Philippine President Vows to Correct Historical Injustice Against Muslims

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Russian probe asks if czar's 1918 killing was ritual murder

November 28, 2017

MOSCOW (AP) — The head of a Russian Orthodox Church panel looking into the 1918 killing of Russia's last czar and his family said it is investigating whether it was a ritual murder — a statement that has angered Jewish groups.

Father Tikhon Shevkunov, the Orthodox bishop heading the panel, said after Monday's session that "a large share of the church commission members have no doubts that the murder was ritual." A representative of the Investigative Committee, Russia's top state investigative agency, also said that it will conduct its own probe into the theory.

Boruch Gorin, a spokesman for the Federation of Jewish Communities, Russia's largest Jewish group, expressed a strong concern Tuesday about the claims that he described as a "throwback to the darkest ages."

Some Christians in medieval Europe believed that Jews murdered Christians to use their blood for ritual purposes, something which historians say has no basis in Jewish religious law or historical fact and instead reflected anti-Jewish hostility in Christian Europe.

Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad on July 17, 1918, in a basement room of a merchant's house where they were held in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. The Russian Orthodox Church made them saints in 2000.

The speculation that the czar and his family were killed by the Jews for ritual purposes long has been promoted by fringe anti-Semitic groups. Gorin said his group was shocked and angered by the statements from both the bishop and the Investigative Committee, which he said sounded like a revival of the century-old "anti-Semitic myth" about the killing of the imperial family.

Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill attended Monday's meeting of the church panel investigating the killing of the czar and his family. He didn't address the issue of whether the killing was ritual, but emphasized that the church needs to find answers to all outstanding questions and "doesn't have the right for mistakes."

Bishop Tikhon's words carried particular weight given his reported close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and influence within the church. The bishop elaborated on his statement Tuesday, telling the state RIA Novosti news agency that the "Bolsheviks and their allies engaged in the most unexpected and diverse ritual symbolism." He claimed that "quite a few people involved in the execution — in Moscow or Yekaterinburg — saw the killing of the deposed Russian emperor as a special ritual of revenge" and added that Yakov Yurovsky, the organizer of the execution who was Jewish, later boasted about his "sacral historic mission."

The conspiracy theories blaming the Jews for spearheading the Bolshevik revolution were popular among the post-revolution Russian emigres and the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, and were later picked up by some hard-line nationalists after the Soviet collapse.

While Tikhon steered clear of singling out Jews as those responsible for the killing, Gorin said that the use of the term coined by anti-Semites of all stripes was "extremely alarming." "Bishop Tikhon's invectives undoubtedly cast a shadow over the Russian Orthodox Church," he said. "And a representative of the Investigative Committee talking about the same theory yesterday casts a shadow on the government as a whole."

Gorin said he expects both the church leadership and Russian government officials to provide explanation. Lyudmila Narusova, a member of the Russian upper house of parliament and the widow of St. Petersburg's mayor, Anatoly Sobchak, also criticized the panel's talk about the ritual murder of the czar's family, saying that it was fomenting ethnic strife, according to the Interfax news agency.

Putin, who served as Sobchak's deputy in the 1990s and maintained contacts with his family, is set to attend a meeting of top Russian Orthodox Church's hierarchs later this week. Under Putin's rule, Russia's Jewish community has enjoyed a revival after a wave of emigration to Israel and other countries before and after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Islamic Coalition Approves Strategy to Fight Terrorism, Sectarianism

Monday, 27 November, 2017

Defense ministers from the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) approved during their first meeting held Sunday in Riyadh, a strategy from several items to fight terrorism as they emphasized on the importance of joint efforts, organized collective actions, and comprehensive strategic planning to deal with the threat of terrorism, and put an end to those who seek to fuel conflicts and sectarianism, and spread chaos, strife and unrest within their countries.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman opened the inaugural meeting of the IMCTC on Sunday and said that the biggest threat from terrorism and extremism is tarnishing the reputation of Islamic religion and distorting the Muslim belief, also pledging to track down terrorism and see its defeats in many countries of the world, especially in Islamic countries, until it disappears completely from the surface of the earth.

“Our meeting today is very important as in the past years, terrorism has been operating in all our countries and most of these organizations operate in several countries without a strong, good and distinguished coordination among Islamic countries. Today, this matter is finished in the presence of this coalition. Today, more than 40 Islamic countries are sending a very strong signal that they will work together and coordinate very strongly to support each other's efforts, whether in military efforts, or financial, intelligence, and political aspects,” the Crown Prince said.

The Muslim top defense officials agreed on Sunday to fight terrorism in the ideology domain, by planning to expose extremist misuse of legitimate texts and events through delusion, allegation, false methods and deceit.

The ministers also expressed their determination to address terrorism through education and knowledge and to fight terrorist ideologies in the financing domain.

“The Ministers agreed on the importance of the role of the IMCTC Counter Terrorism Center in coordinating and integrating military efforts, the exchange of information and intelligence, and conducting training courses and joint exercises,” a statement issued by the ministers said.

The Council also agreed on the importance of the military role in combating the threat of terrorism, enhancing security and peace in the Coalition member countries and contributing to regional and international security and peace.

Gen. Raheel Sharif, military commander of the IMCTC, said: “The greatest challenge to peace and stability in the 21st century, especially in the Islamic world, is to address the most serious phenomenon in the world: Terrorism.”

For his part, Secretary-General of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition Lieutenant General Abdulelah bin Othman Al-Saleh uncovered that the defense ministers exchanged information and initiatives to be submitted in the coming period, indicating that there are institutional initiatives, plans and strategies that will dry up the sources of terrorism and its funding by information, military and media.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.
Link: https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1096136/islamic-coalition-approves-strategy-fight-terrorism-sectarianism.