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PM Barzani: Iraq closing Kurdish airports amounts to ‘collective punishment’

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A set of announced measures by the Iraqi government which include an attempt to strip the Kurdistan Region from controlling its border gates such as the airports amounts to “collective punishment” and is a reminder of the practices of the infamous former Iraqi regime, said Kurdish Premier Nechirvan Barzani on Monday after he cast his vote in the independence referendum, despite the opposition of the Iraqi government and other countries. The Iraqi government had demanded that Kurdistan hand over control of all its international border posts to federal authorities, including the airports, and told the international community to deal exclusively with the government in Baghdad, particularly in relation to oil. Iraq announced the measures following a meeting of its National Security Council on Sunday. “This is the collective punishment of the people of Kurdistan. What Abadi declared is the collective punishment of all the people of Kurdistan”, PM Barzani said.

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Barzani refuses to suspend non-binding KRG referendum

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RaqKurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani reiterated that the non-binding independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25 would go ahead as planned. In a meeting with Special Representative of the United Nations in Iraq, Jan Kubis, Barzani stated that “the referendum was the purest form of democracy”. Barzani also said the KRG was open to dialogue with Baghdad and they could negotiate border and other issues in a peaceful atmosphere, away from conflict. Baghdad, however, rejects the planned poll, saying it will adversely affect the fight against Daesh, which still maintains a significant presence in northern Iraq. The Iraqi government also believes that holding the poll would violate the terms of the country’s 2005 constitution. Turkey also rejects the planned referendum, saying the region’s stability depends on the maintenance of Iraq’s unity and territorial integrity.

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Peshmerga, Iraqi forces sign 5-point deal on Hawija military operation

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Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga on Sunday signed a deal regarding the military operation to retake the city of Hawija, which will be supported by the US-led coalition.
According to one of the conditions in the agreement, Peshmerga forces will not withdraw from areas they currently control. The Peshmerga have also agreed to open the road to Iraqi troops in the south of Kirkuk, allowing them to mobilize on Hawija which has been occupied by the Islamic State (IS) since the mid-2014. Thirdly, Peshmerga forces will open a civilian corridor for the anticipated influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the conflict as Iraqi troops advance. The agreement also notes that Peshmerga forces will provide logistical reinforcement and assistance to Iraqi forces. The primary role of the Peshmerga forces in the battle will be to target IS bases with artillery support.

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Maliki rejects UN-sponsored initiative on planned KRG referendum

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Iraqi Vice President Nouri Al-Maliki has rejected an initiative sponsored by the United Nations regarding a planned independence referendum in northern Iraq, saying that it contains several elements that are against the country’s constitution. The U.N.-sponsored initiative had aimed at finding a solution to the disputes between Baghdad and Arbil on the issue of the Sept. 25 referendum for the independence of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Maliki rejected the initiative by the U.N. envoy to Iraq because it “contains some implicit sections that are unconstitutional” adding that Arbil “has to respect” the ruling by the Iraqi Supreme Court that temporarily suspended the vote. A day earlier, Barzani said Baghdad has only three days to come up with an alternative in place of the referendum or the votes will go ahead as scheduled on Sept. 25. Saying that the purpose of the referendum “is to tell the world that Kurdish people want independence”, Barzani noted that any other alternative must achieve the same objective.

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Mosul ISIS/ Ministry: more than 12000 refugees return home in Mosul

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More than 12000 refugees have returned to their home regions in Mosul over the past week, an Iraqi government official said Tuesday, more than two months after operations against Islamic State militants ended in the city. Jawan Mahmoud, an official in charge of Kurdistan Region provinces in the Migration and Displacement Ministry, said in a statement that 12.553 refugees left camps in eastern and western Nineveh as well as Dahuk to their home regions in Mosul. Buses from the transport ministry and others run by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command helped carry the refugees and their luggage, according to Mahmoud.

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Iraqi forces launch offensive against IS in Anbar

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Iraqi forces on Tuesday began an operation to recapture the Islamic State’s (IS) last remaining stronghold in Anbar Province near the border with Syria, a military source said. According to the source, Iraqi soldiers, Anbar provincial police, and Iranian-backed Shia militia Hashd al-Shaabi began advancing on the town of Anah in the morning. Their progress was slowed down by booby-traps and mines planted by IS militants, the source told the BBC. Anah, located 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the border with Syria, is one of three Iraqi towns in the Euphrates river valley still under the control of the extremist group. The military source said Iraqi troops in Anah and the surrounding areas were being supported by the US-led coalition’s air strikes as well as military advisors on the ground. The US-led Operation Inherent Resolve campaign against IS’ spokesperson confirmed the information on Twitter on Tuesday.

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Turkish army conducts military drill at Iraqi border

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Turkish armed forces started a military drill at the Iraqi border on Monday, the army said, a week ahead of a Kurdish referendum in northern Iraq which Turkey has asked to be called off. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the planned Sept. 25 referendum was as an issue of national security, and warned that Turkey would take any necessary steps in response. President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday that he will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi this week to discuss their concerns about the referendum. Turkey, the United States and other Western powers have advised authorities in the semi-autonomous region to cancel the vote, worrying that it would create tensions that would distract from the war on Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

 

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Iraq’s top court orders suspension of Kurdistan independence referendum

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Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court ruled on Monday (September 18) to suspend a referendum on independence of Kurdistan scheduled for September 25. A statement by the General Secretariat of Council of Ministers said the court had ordered the suspension of all activities related to the Kurdistan Region’s referendum until complaints claiming the vote would be unconstitutional have been heard. The court approved Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi’s demand to consider “the breakaway of any region or province from Iraq as unconstitutional”, his office said in a statement. Kurds are set to hold the referendum on September 25 but Baghdad opposes it, with lawmakers voting to reject it. Iraq’s neighbors, Turkey, Iran and Syria, also oppose the referendum, fearing it could fan separatism among their own ethnic Kurdish populations. High Referendum Council said on Sunday the process of referendum on independence of Kurdistan would continue, just few days after representatives from U.N., U.S., U.K., Germany and France suggested alternatives to postpone referendum.

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Iraqi PM: Baghdad will use force ‘if’ Kurdistan referendum results in violence

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Baghdad is prepared to intervene with military power should the upcoming referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region scheduled for Sep. 25 results in violence, said the top Iraqi official on Saturday. The Kurdistan Region has insisted on holding a referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Region, to decide whether to secede from the rest of Iraq. Should the people of Iraq be “threatened by the use of force outside the law, then we will intervene militarily”, Abadi told AP. “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”, he stated.

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ISIS news: More than 300 militants killed in Anbar in 5 days

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More than 300 Islamic State militants have been killed in five days of airstrikes on the group’s locations in Anbar province, according to the Interior Ministry’s intelligence service. According to the intelligence cell, strikes by the Iraqi air forces killed 306 Islamic State members  from September 11th to 16th. The strikes hit targets in Akashat, Qaim, and Annah regions, the statement said. Earlier on Sunday, Alghad Press quoted a source saying that army troops opened al-Sakra barricade, opening the road to the IS-held town of Annah preparing for a “liberation offensive”.

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