Kurdistan
The bodies of 100 Barzani victims of Anfal will be returned to the Kurdistan region via Erbil International Airport. They will be transported to the Barzan region in a special ceremony and reburied in Barzan village on Sunday.
The bodies were found in the Arar desert in southern Iraq. They were sent to Baghdad for DNA testing to verify their whereabouts, and it was found out that they were Barzan Anfal victims.
The atrocities committed against the Barzan tribe were part of the Baathist regime’s genocidal Anfal campaign to exterminate the Kurds. Anfal refers to the eighth chapter, or Surah, in the Quran – which was the codename used by Baathists for the genocide. Anfal is translated as the spoils of war. More than 182,000 people were massacred and over 4,500 villages demolished in the various phases of the Anfal campaign that began in late March 1988, starting with the Halabja Chemical bombardment that gas 5000 people to death.
The disputed territories that constitute almost half of the Kurdistan region's federal territory are now under the central government's control.
He said that before deciding on an important issue such as the census, it must be dealt with carefully because it is directly related to the lives of citizens in the Kurdistan regions.
He stressed that any comprehensive process in these areas, if not fully normalized, is unacceptable and will not achieve Kurdish rights because there are a large number of refugees in the disputed territories, and Article 140 has not been implemented, which creates a suspicious circumstance on the census process, both sides, the Kurdistan region and Iraqi government should decide on the census of these areas.
The Kurdish territories disputed between the Kurdistan region and the Iraqi government have become one of the unresolved issues between Iraq and the Kurdistan region since 2005. The 2005 Iraqi constitution stipulates that a referendum shall be held in these territories for their population to decide which side they want to be on, the Kurdistan region of the federal government.
The Iraqi government is working to hold a population consensus which automatically provides the results of a to-be referendum. The region has been facing Arabizing policies since the 2017 independence referendum, and the Kurds in these territories are coerced to leave the area through various hard and soft means.
KurdSat News reporter holding a book titled “1000 intelligence questions” asked her how many books have you read so far, and she replied “seventy-five”.
Afram Hussein, a doctor who first realized Liza’s intelligence capabilities, said that her IQ tests have shown that her intelligence is between 100 per cent and 125 per cent, which places her above ordinary, and she should not pursue regular education.
Liza lives in the Sharazoor district. She has two sisters; her mother is a teacher, while her father is an engineer.
After appearing in the media, many private schools offered her a seat and promised to teach her on her own merits.
In an interview with the Al-Arabiya on June 24, Iraqi defense minister, “the Iraqi army can counter the Turkish army and force it to end its aggression against Iraqi territory, but they are waiting for political and diplomatic solutions because war will only lead to destruction and bloodshed.”
"Iraq has launched its first war against Turkey at the Security Council and is waiting for the results of diplomatic efforts," he added.
Regarding Turkey's last week bombing of Zakho that killed nine tourists and injured over twenty others, the defense minister said," Turkey used heavy artillery and is responsible for the deaths of civilians."
The recent Turkish assault on Iraqi civilians in northern Iraq caused massive nationwide protests against Turkey that resulted in heated diplomatic friction between Ankara and Baghdad. Turkey stopped issuing visas for Iraqis when protesters shut down Turkish Visa centers across Iraq.
Today, July 26, a military delegation led by the deputy commander of joint operations arrived in Iraq’s northernmost city of Zakho in Duhok province.
In an interview with KurdSat News, the spokesperson for Iraqi joint operations lieutenant Tahseen Khafaji said, "the purpose of their visit was to reassure their people that another deadly attack would not take place in the region."
Khafaji was referring to a deadly Turkish shelling on July 20 that killed nine Iraqi tourists and injured over twenty. The attack brought nationwide protests, and protestors shut down many Turkish Visa centers in multiple Iraqi cities.
The visit brought with it another surprise, rising the Iraqi flag on the Turkish-Iraqi border for the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
"We will also work to better spread our forces in the area," Khafaji explained. The delegation was also a reconnaissance mission to bring the regular Iraqi army back to the region. Peshmerga, PKK, and the Turkish military are all present in the area.
When asked what Iraq is doing about Turkey’s continued shelling and air raid of the Kurdistan region, the spokesperson replied, "it is for the ministry of foreign affairs to prevent such attacks and it is their decision what to do."
Today, July 26, the Czech general consulate in Erbil tweeted that the Czech general consul met with the Minister of agricultural and water resources Begard Talabani.
The Czech general consul said, "I thank the Minister for hosting the delegation of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture and for accepting my invitation to Czech business day in October 2022. I look forward to future cooperation."
The Kurdistan region has turned to agriculture and relaxed foreign investment laws and regulations. The region’s reliance on oil has brought it crisis after crisis.
KRG minister of agriculture said they have discussed strengthening bilateral ties and cooperation between the region and the Czech Republic.
On her Facebook page, Talabani wrote, "We also discussed investment opportunities, agricultural industry, and the support for Czech investors to invest and cooperate with farmers and business owners in the Kurdistan region."
"They have discussed with the Czech delegation the KRG Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources’ efforts to tackle water resource management, and facing the challenges of drought," wrote Talabani on her Facebook page.
Drought and water management have come on the top of issues facing the region and Iraq in general as drought. Dams built by Turkey and Iran on rivers that provide almost all fresh water to the country have reduced to record low levels.
The region tries to diversify its economy, and agriculture is one of the gates it can use to exit its oil overdependence.
In an interview with the Al-Arabiya on June 24, the Iraqi Defense Minister said that Turkey has not responded to Iraqi demands to withdraw its troops from the Zelkan military base in northern Iraq, and Turkish soldiers are 20 kilometers deep in northern Iraq and that the PKK exploited the chaos, and penetrated deeper into Iraqi territory.
Regarding Turkey's last week bombing of Zakho that killed nine tourists and injured over twenty others, the defense minister said, "Turkey used heavy artillery and is responsible for the deaths of civilians."
"Turkey took advantage of the fight against ISIS to enter Iraqi territory," the minister added.
"We suggested to Turkey the establishment of coordination centers in Diyarbakir and Mosul, we were surprised by the Turkish bombing, as the Turks did not coordinate with us," the minister revealed.
The recent Turkish assault on Iraqi civilians in northern Iraq caused massive nationwide protests against Turkey that resulted in heated diplomatic friction between Ankara and Baghdad. Turkey stopped issuing visas for Iraqis when protesters shut down Turkish Visa centers across Iraq.
In Iraq's southernmost city of Kut, desperate protesters burned a café named Istanbul when they could not find a Turkish Visa center or representative office.
Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed that Turkey did not shell the tourist resort. Even though, 24 hours after the massacre, Turkey shelled the Parakhe tourist resort over twenty times.
Ankara cites PKK's presence for its continuous assaults and military incursions into northern Iraq. To fight them outside its territory, Turkey has set up more than 100 military outposts and five military airbases in northern Iraq.
Ankara frequently targets PKK fighters in the Kurdistan region, that is, northern Iraq, using drones and artillery, usually with significant collateral damage.
Regarding the killing of the tourists in the Kurdistan region's Zakho district, Kurdistan region deputy prime minister Qubad Talabani said that "over a hundred civilians have lost their lives in the past few years due to Turkey's continuous air raids in the Kurdistan region."
Community Peacemakers Teams (CPT) representative in Iraq Kamaran Osman said that the Turkish army has increasingly resorted to targeting residential areas.
"In one instance in which the CPT observed, a Turkish drone surveilled a PKK vehicle for an hour, and it waited until it was close to a civilian area and struck the vehicle, killing civilians with the PKK fighters," Osman explained.
He said the court received the complainants' statements and asked the Cyber Crimes Department from the Interior Ministry's Directorate of Technology and Information to send the court a copy of the recordings.
The supreme judge of the al-Karkh Investigation Court said the court had also decided to take a statement from the site owner that published the audio recordings and was waiting to receive his address to send him a notice.
Iraqi activist and journalist Ali Fadel, who resides in the United States, published an audio leak attributed to Al-Maliki, in which he dealt with some issues, most notably his relationship with the Sadrists. In the leaked audios, Maliki also accused the chief of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Massoud Barzani, of seeking to strike the Shiites by embracing the displaced Sunnis, as well as their leaders.
The Kurdistan region is the number one choice for many southern Iraqi tourists leaving the blistering heat of Iraqi summer. The tourists were part of a 200-person tourism group from Baghdad.
Children were among the victims, including a 1-year-old, the Kurdistan region health minister said in a statement that all the victims died before reaching a hospital.
For its part, Turkey denied carrying out the attack. The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Chavusoglu denied reports that Turkey carried out attacks targeting civilians in the Kurdistan region's Zakho district. Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that Iraqi authorities should not fall for what he labelled a "trap". Though Iraqi and regional leaders held Turkey responsible.
PUK president Bafel Jalal Talabani extended his condolences to the victims of the attack and called for national unity to end breaching Iraq's sovereignty.
In a statement, the Kurdistan region council of ministers asked Turkey to avoid targeting its civilians and said, "We strongly condemn the shelling of the Parakhe resort near the Darkar border of the Zakho Autonomous Administration by Turkish forces which, unfortunately, caused the death and injury of some tourists."
Muqata Sadr, Iraq's popular cleric and its power broker, called the attack outrageous and demanded an end to the Iraq-Turkey security agreement.
"Turkey becomes more insolent, believing that Iraq can only respond with a weak condemnation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Al-Sadr said on Twitter.
Al-Sadr called for "escalation" and "reducing diplomatic representation with Turkey and closing airports and border crossings between the two countries."
Many pro-Sadrist protesters gathered in front of the Turkish embassy in Baghdad and took down its flag, while others shut down Turkey's Visa centers across Iraq. Citing its visa centers shutting down, Ankara temporarily withheld issuing visas to Iraqi citizens.
The Turkish army has frequently targeted the Kurdistan region, which has based more than 50 military outposts across the Iraqi-Turkish border, and over 15 intelligence bases. Turkey justifies its attack by citing PKK's presence in the northern Kurdistan region.
Northern Kurdistan region is home to many tourist resorts that thousands of tourists visit yearly, especially in the summertime. The attack would discourage thousands of tourists from revisiting the region.
Tourism is one of the crucial sectors that the KRG promotes to diversify its economy. Amal Jalal, head of the Kurdistan region tourism committee, told KurdSat News that they would work to relieve people's worries about the dangers in the tourist resorts.
Following our efforts to solve the problem of selling farmers' products in Penjwen and other cities of the Kurdistan Region, thanks to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture that decided to ban imports that are abundantly produced in the Kurdistan region," Kurdistan region minister of agriculture Begard Talabani announcedon her Facebook page.
Tomatoes and Potatoes are abundantly produced in the Kurdistan region. Earlier, Talabani said that potato was the most grown crop in the region; it is yield is even more than grain.
"Kurdistan Region We would like to thank the Iraqi Minister of Agriculture, the Iraqi Minister of Justice, Mr. Gharib from the Agriculture Committee of the Iraqi Parliament and all those who have been concerned with us, minister Talabani added.
However, imports from Iran oblige farmers to sell their products at low prices, throwing them into financial distress.
Last week, farmers from Sulaimani tossed their products on the roads and shut down a highway in Sulaimani, citing low prices the farmers asked for low costs. One ton of cucumber was sold for only 60 US dollars.
The Iraqi ministry of agriculture published the import ban list that includes cucumber, potato, tomato, eggplant, melon, and watermelon, the most commonly grown products in the Kurdistan region.
The decision would help domestic produce to grow and restore credibility in farming which has long been ignored due to imports from Iran and Turkey.
Twelve labor inspectors were sworn in before Kwestan Mohammed, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs to legally and according to the applicable laws of the region, as official inspectors to visit and follow up on private sector projects after years of oversight.
Earlier, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG) said that they pay attention to the private sector, labor rights and creating job opportunities for young people and have taken several steps in that direction.
She added that the number of companies and workers has increased to 16,000 companies and 133,000 workers.
On June 15, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan region Qubad Talabani announced that from now on, private sector employees would be retired with a pension similar to state employees.
The Kurdistan region has taken several steps to diversify the region’s economy, which is heavily reliant on oil. The steps are taken to strengthen people’s beliefs to work in the private sector and believe that they would have a secure future in the private sector.
"The anonymous soldiers of Imam Zaman (AS) in the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC arrested the leader of the biggest gang that trafficked Iranian girls to Erbil," Tasnim news reported today, July 18.
According to Tasnim News agency, the woman promoted homosexuality, gambling, fraud and denigration of illicit sexual relations and published them online have been among this person's actions.
The leader is a woman named Zara Mansouri Hamadani, alias Sara, who was identified by Iranian position media abroad as a LGBT activist.
"After months of investigation and monitoring of this woman, the intelligence organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have discovered a large gang smuggling Iranian women to Erbil [in the Kurdistan region]," the statement explained.
The gang, through two people named Ali Reza Farjadi Kia and Katy, assisted by "Sara", took hundreds of Iranian women to Erbil. According to the report, more than 1,000 of these girls have been sold in Erbil.
Prostitution has increased in Iran due to the US-led sanctions on the Islamic republic. A devalued currency and lack of Jobs have obliged many girls to resort to prostitution to pay for their lives and, in some cases, education.
On June 17, the minister of agriculture and water resources received a delegation of investors from the German firm AMIRA.
Minister of agriculture and water resources Begard Talabani said on her Facebook page that "We received Mr. Werner Krauss, and delegation of investors from German AMIRA Company."
The German government would help the Kurdistan region through AMIRA BASMATI RICE GMBH EUR. This Germany-based firm is a leading global provider of packaged Indian specialty rice.
"In the meeting, we discussed development of our relations, and the agricultural sector in the Kurdistan Region. Through this company, the German government is willing to provide technical, and financial support to Bitwen Sugar Factory in Raparin district, after a visit to the factory," the minister announced.
The Bitwen Sugar Factory is the largest cane factory expected to create close to eight thousand jobs soon.
The minister noted that soon a larger team of German experts and investors would help improve the agricultural sector in the region.
The Kurdistan region ministry of agriculture has worked to strengthen the agricultural sector in the region, which is in line with diversifying the region's oil-based economy.
The ministry assists farmers and investors in introducing their products to regional and international countries and facilitating marketizing their products through financial and administrative assistance.
The statement explained, "Karim Ahmad joined the Iraqi Communist Party in the mid-1940s and was arrested several times in the early and mid-1950s. Since then, friendship and cooperation with Kurdish parties have been important to Karim Ahmad. In the mid-1980s, he played a significant role in the formation of the Kurdistan Front, which ensured that the communist party of the Kurdistan region had an active participation in that front."
PUK president Bafel Jalal Talabani extended his condolences to Karim Ahmed's family and friends and called him a pioneer of the Kurdistan path to freedom.
Qubad Talabani, the supervisor of Mam Jalal's Secretariat, also offered his condolences to the leader and said, "Comrade Ahmed was a veteran struggler, a patriot, and unrelenting figure in the path of Kurdistan self-determination."
Karim Ahmed was the longest-living Kurdish politician who celebrated his 100th birthday days before his passing.
Karim Ahmad was born in 1922 in Baqrta village of Koya. He studied for three years of primary school in Erbil and then went to Baghdad, where he graduated from the Teachers' College – Sports Institute and got a job as a teacher in Koya. He turned 100 years old on July 1, 2022.
US President Joe Biden said today, Thursday, that the purpose of his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to strengthen joint relations between the two countries.
He added that the reason for his visit to the Kingdom is more than just observing American interests, pointing out that the visit is an opportunity to make things right.
This came during a press conference with the caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, as part of his visit to Tel Aviv.
Russian invasion of Ukraine has faced Americans and Europeans with inflation and higher prices. The price of energy in the US and EU has skyrocket. Saudi Arabi is the most powerful member of the Oil Producing Countries (OPEC), as it controls almost one-third of OPEC’s total oil reserves, and can change global energy prices, something Biden eagerly seeks.
A rift between the US and Saudi Arabia developed in the past couple years over the Kingdom’s policies towards Russia, and its human rights records, most notably the murder of Saudi-American journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
The visit will also be historic, making it the first direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom does not recognize the sovereignty of Israel.
Biden’s visit to the Middle East comes at a time that regional and eastern powers, such as Iran and Russia are coming closer together, while American allies diverge on many topics.
Today, July 13, farmers from Kirkuk’s Palkana region gathered to protest Iraqi security forces’ decision to ban their agriculture by Kurds from the region.
A Kurdish citizen from Palkana told KurdSat that, “the security forces have warned the people of Palkana and Shanagha no to farm otherwise face consequences, and now is corn season and they have warned that Kurds shall not plant them, and anyone who has planted them must not water them! If that is the case then everyone would loose around ten million Iraqi dinars. People are obliged to farm in the villages because that is what they do for living.”
“What else would you do in a village!” the farmer added.
There are many Kurds living in the disputed territories between the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) and Iraqi federal government. After the independence referendum of 2017, Iraqi security forces, force the Kirkuk villagers to leave their homeland and they are replaced what is known as “imported Arabs,” or Arabs resettled to Kirkuk from other regions in Iraq.