Kurdistan
"On Friday, Turkish troops randomly fired on three Kurdish villagers and killed one of them in the Barmeezah-Kany Bogan region of Bradost of Kurdistan region near the Iraqi-Turkish border. The victim is a 20-year-old named Tahseen Omar," Kurdsat News reporter said.
According to the locals, the victim is a 20-year-old from Northern Kurdistan, Mawan village of Shamzeenan district, who has married a few days ago.
Last night, the Turkish army detained 12 villagers in the villages of Dila, Malmalok, and Midan in Sidakan county of Soran district in the Kurdistan region and severely tortured them.
The Turkish army has established more than 50 military outposts in the Kurdistan region. They stretch from the Syria-Iraq-Turkey tri-border area to the Iran-Iraq border and down south until Sulaymaniyah governorate, more than 180 south of the Turkish-Iraqi border.
Kurdistan Save the Children presents special projects to children during Ramadan
Abdelrahman added, "every month we provide 1,200 children with monthly salaries." Besides the monthly wages, these children are also granted food baskets or cash from charities and individual donors.
"We focus on children from Garmian as the region is home to many children without a parent due to the Anfal genocide," Abdelrahman added.
In the Anfal genocide of 1988, more than 182 Kurdish civilians, mainly from Garmian, were buried alive, went missing, or killed. It has left many people without any family left.
To help children have better access to education, AbdelRahman said, "We have reactivated a law that allows a disadvantaged child to graduate from primary school in only four years and not 6.
The law aims to educate children who usually cannot attend school and have to work."
The KSC encourages people to donate to children because as little as 20 dollars could change a lot for children, continued Abdelrahman.
Based in Sulaimani, the KSC is a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping children and promoting children's rights for the past three decades.
The CTG is to publish a confession of the IS terrorist who has beheaded the Peshmarga himself tonight at 8 pm.
The TCG usually conducts operations to arrest IS sleeper cells across the Kurdistan region as Is has changed its strategy after its total territorial defeat.
Garmian is an administrative region in Northern Iraq. Garmian transliterates into barren land.
In a press conference Jalal Nouri, governor of the Garmian administration in a press conference stated, after meeting with administrative officials and receiving sufficient precipitation data regarding the current year’s draught. The draught would damage Garmian’s agriculture and environment.
"This is the second year in a row that Garmian experiences drought, and its effects would be worse. According to statistics from the general agriculture directorate of Garmian, more than 83,415 acres of arable land and fish resources will be affected. The draught would contribute to dust storms as water sources run out and help spread various diseases," the governor added.
Governor of Garmian also said, in the near future, they would prepare a report with administrative officials and direct it to the government to demand an emergency fund to help affected civilians both in the cities and villages of Garmian. They would ask international organizations to assist them fight the draught.
The statement reads:
Today, we commemorate the 34th anniversary of 20th century's most heinous crime. We honor the innocent lives brutally shot in mass graves, and people who die from hunger and thirst in deserts and prisons.
On this occasion, we remind everyone that despite searching for the missing and mass graves, identifying the martyrs, and repatriating Anfal remains to the Kurdistan region. Yet, international recognition of the Anfal genocide, further compensation of the survivors, and restoring the villages and places destroyed by the atrocity have not been satisfying in regard to the material and human casualties wrought upon our people and regions of Kurdistan during the Anfal campaign.
We confirm PUK's constant efforts to realize the aforementioned demands and prevent the recurrence of such a crime against our nation. We do our best in the political and diplomatic centers to protect our enshrined constitutional rights and work to implement ungranted rights. Such affairs require dialogue and discussion, and not empty words that lead to escalation and bringing a new destructive disaster to our nation.
On this appealing occasion, we reaffirm our promises to address the problems and consequences of the Anfal genocide.
Political Bureau
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Qubad Talabani said on his Facebook page, "Dear Yamur [referring to the officer's newly born infant] when you were born, I made you a promise that next time I visit you, I would inform you and your sister Yaran of arresting the murderers of your father. You are daughters of martyr Muhammed; you are proud to be his daughters."
Mohammed Latif was a police officer killed on duty when trying to protect a girl from his family who wanted to murder her due to social problems. The criminals tried to kidnap and kill the girl from a governmental women's shelter in the city of Sualimani. The officer was able to save the girl but sacrificed his life.
Far from any humanist principles, on fabricated charges, the KDP has imprisoned activists and journalists for simply expressing their opinion without judicial arrest warrant. They have been held in prisons for an undetermined period. The security forces usually arrest the journalists without the knowledge of juridical
authorities and withhold their cases from reaching the courts.
The KDP is conducting mass surveillance of the people of Badinan, the areas of Kurdistan region controlled by the KDP. It severely monitors online platforms, including wildly popular social media. The authorities in Badinan do not tolerate any dissidents or demonstrations and prevent any political gatherings. It uses fear and coercion to suppress dissent and freedom of expression.
It is normal to be arrested in KDP controlled regions for simply criticizing their way of ruling.
As of April 2020, more than 100 journalists and civilians have been jailed on various charges that lack evidence. Many have been tortured and forced to confess to things they have not done.
Prisoners of Shiladzeh, a city in the northern Kurdistan region, have abstained from eating and drinking for almost 36 days due to KDP's inaction to process their cases. They have lost hope in the KDP and have written farewell messages to their families.
The KDP uses all methods of fear and torture and has made the region a giant prison for journalists and activists. A journalist who has fled the KDP rule on conditions of anonymity for fear of his life told KurdsatNews.
Today evening, in Anfal Monument in Chamchamal the preparations for Anfal’s April 14th anniversary was announced were.
171 Anfal remains will be repatriated to Kurdistan region after Ramadan, which ends beginning of May, said Adeeb Latif.
On April 14th 2022 thirty-four years pass on the Anfal genocide committed against the Kurdish nation where it left more than 182 thousand civilians dead and destroyed more than 4 thousand and 3 hundred villages.
Three months after some migrants lost their lives on an overloaded yacht that sank near Santorini island in Greece, tomorrow bodies of five deceased Kurds will be brought back to the Kurdistan region, Hussein Hama Salih, representative of Lutkah in Greece, told Kurdsat News.
The victims died on December 21, 2021, and were founded on different police operations on Greek coastlines, added Salih.
The case for the missing is still open, and Lutkah cooperates with the family of the missing to find them, Lutkah told Kurdsat News.
Sulaimani - A severe dust storm covering the Kurdistan Region has hospitalized many and restricted movements across the cities and limiting eyesight to only tens of meters.
Forty-five people have been hospitalized in Sulaimania, a city with more green space per induvial than any other city in the Kurdistan region and Iraq.
The skies of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region were obscured by a thick layer of dust on Thursday, leading to impaired breathing, reduced visibility, and making driving difficult.
In Kirkuk, 90 cases of breathing difficulties were recorded with people admitted to the city’s hospitals.
The number of dust storms has increased dramatically in the last decade. Climate change is a significant factor in the increased frequency of dust waves.
According to statistics recorded by the General Meteorological Authority, the number of dusty days increased from 243 to 272 days per year over the past two decades and is expected to reach 300 dusty days annually in 2050.
Kurdistan region usually boasts good dry weather where people go to picnic this time of the year. But the dust storm prevents people from enjoying the beauty of the region’s spring.
The Significance of the region's energy to Europe was mentioned in the meeting on April 9. Greek foreign minister said that the Kurdistan region is looking at a historical opportunity to export its oil and natural gas to Europe.
"Yes, Kurdistan region is looking at a historical opportunity but the Kurdish government and Iraqi central government dispute over energy export. So it requires first addressing these disputes between them and Baghdad before they can take a step to export their energy, the deputy prime minister said.
Qubad Talabani and the Greek foreign minister discussed many issues, including tourism, e-government, and investment.
Sabah Omed, chief of staff of Kurdistan region council of ministers, Amal Jalal, head of Kurdistan tourism committee, and Daban Shadalla, deputy manager of Kurdistan foreign relations department, accompanied Qubad Talabani at Delphi international economic forum.
Since the collapse of the former Iraqi regime in 2003 at the hands of US forces and their allies, the Kurdistan region of Iraq has witnessed an urban and economic movement whose effects are visible.
High-rise buildings, shops with the names of foreign brands, modern cars, and the absence of signs of armament.
Ari Jalal, head of the Lutka organization concerned with immigrant affairs, says that this year alone has seen the exodus of more than forty thousand from Iraq, the vast majority of whom are from the Kurdistan region.
There seems to be a strong desire to emigrate here.
"I will sell my house to immigrate."
Rebwar, 46, wants to sell his small house, to pay immigration fees to smugglers or intermediaries.
Rebwar failed four times to fulfil his dream of emigrating, but he is still determined to go to Britain and this time wants to take his family of five with him, including his wife, who has cancer.
We asked the wife if the drowning had scared her from the idea of emigrating. She said, "I feel sorry for those who lost their lives at sea, and my heartfelt condolences go to their families, but we are determined to emigrate."
However, why would one want to sell one's home and risk emigrating, especially since the region's conditions are relatively better than other regions in Iraq?
"In 1991 I was 16 years old, and today, after thirty years, I have built nothing for my future, and I do not want my children to live in the same situation," says Rebwar, referring to the start of the era of de facto independence for the Kurdistan region of Iraq after the second Gulf War.
His wife intervenes, saying: "The networks linked to the Barzani and Talabani families, the economic situation, and the lack of educational opportunities are all pushing us to emigrate."
"The vast majority of current immigrants are in the 18-25 age group," says the head of Lutka.
The class-clan nature of Kurdish societies reduces employment and education opportunities for the youth groups who live in villages and peripheral areas.
Migrants face death in the hope of a better life.
Since the Islamic State took control of areas adjacent to the region in 2014, the economic situation in Iraqi Kurdistan has been affected, whether in terms of the absence of investors or the decline in revenues coming from Baghdad.
Since then, the number of immigrants from the region has increased.
Immigrants who dream of reaching Europe spend vast sums of money to achieve their goal, without which they may die.
Rebwar said that his family's immigration trip "would cost me about $90,000 for the whole family".
Illegal immigration processes take place through several stages, starting from here. Tour companies are working to secure visas for neighbouring countries like Turkey, Iran, or Georgia.
One of the smugglers agreed to speak to me, after specifying the place and time, at the last moment, for fear of being followed by the authorities.
Nizar, a nom de guerre, says that smugglers set prices for migration trips according to their type: "The price of land is different from sea, and this varies according to the size of the boat. A large rubber boat may cost $1,000 per person, while large ships cost more."
"The destination also determines the cost. The average cost per person to the European Union is higher than to other regions," he adds.
Nizar explains the path that migration trips usually follow: "The traditional way is for a person to secure his visa, either through us or on his own, to countries of origin such as Turkey, from which he begins the journey by land (via Greece or Bulgaria) or by sea (through Greece), according to different prices to reach the European Union.
He adds that this changed with the entry of Belarus on the line, where the cost of the visa is obtained through "tourist offices, intermediaries, or even workers in international consulates".
Nizar says, "The legal visa fee does not exceed eighty dollars, while the price through intermediaries ranges between 6000-8000 dollars."
Some Kurdish migrants who tried to cross into the European Union via Belarus returned as lifeless bodies.
During the past few months, immigration flights have been arriving in Belarus, after which the migrants continue the way either on foot or in trucks entering the European Union.
Nizar believes that "the closure of the Belarusian border with the European Union may restore the activity of the traditional route through Turkey by sea or land."
During the past few days, Iraq returned many of its citizens stuck on the border between Belarus and Bulgaria, while others returned as lifeless bodies. But in the absence of a significant change in the region's conditions that push many to emigrate - and these circumstances converge with the desire of some to collect money, it seems that the migration convoys from the region will continue.
Three Katyusha rockets fell Wednesday evening near an oil refinery in Iraqi Kurdistan. "The rockets did not cause any human or material damage," said the counter-terrorism council of the region.
The regional counter-terrorism agency said that the missiles landed near the Korokosk refinery, one of the largest oil-rich regions, about 20 kilometres northwest of Erbil.
The announcement stressed that the missiles "did not cause any human or material damage."
The Iraqi News Agency quoted the authorities saying that the launched missiles were from the Hamdaniya area in Nineveh Governorate.
Sources in the Kurdistan Regional Government told "Reuters" that the refinery near which the missiles fell is owned by businessman Baz Karim Barzanji, CEO of the "Car Group" energy company. Last month Barzanji's house was targeted and demolished by Iranian missiles.
Last March, Iran attacked Erbil with more than a dozen ballistic missiles in an attack, the first of its kind on the capital of the semi-autonomous region.
Climate change is the main reason behind dust storms, declared the Iraqi ministry of environment. According to the general weather committee, the number of dust storms has increased from 243 days per year to 272 days per year. It is estimated to reach 300 days per year by 2050.
The committee stressed that climate change threatens to destroy nearly 70% of arable land in Iraq.
The KDP’s “secret initiative” sought PUK’s readiness to join the alliance of “Save the Nation,” which is consisted of the KDP, Sadrist movement led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Sunni Taqaddum Party led by parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, the source told Sabah newspaper.
If PUK joins “Save the Nation” alliance, in return the KDP “would abandon the presidency to the PUK on condition that the PUK comes out of its coalition with the Coordination Framework parties and joins the tripartite alliance”, the newspaper reported.
Last week the alliance of “Save the Nation” failed to hold a parliament session with the other Shia parties and the PUK to elect the Iraqi president and Prime Minister.
The KDP has nominated Rebar Ahmed for the president and the PUK’s candidate is Barham Salih. Both parties reject each other’s candidates.
Sadrist movement led by Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr announced Mohammed Jaafar al-Sadr for the premiership.
There are disagreements among the Iraqi politicians about the candidates for the presidency, keeping the government formation process in a stalemate that also prevents the appointment of a prime minister.
After the parliament’s failure to hold a session, Moqtada al-Sadr, who won the largest number of seats in the 2021 October federal election, said he wants no consensus for the formation of the government.
But three days later in a post on his Twitter account, he said he would give the Coordination Framework the chance to form the country’s next government in 40 days.
Wednesday’s failure to achieve quorum comes after two more electoral sessions yielded no results. Only 58 lawmakers were present in the first presidential vote in parliament in early February. Another session to elect a news president failed on Saturday as only 202 lawmakers arrived to Iraq’s parliament.
Nouri al-Maliki, who heads the Shiite Coordination Framework (85 seats), said in a statement that the session can “harm the national balance operation and introduce the political process to great risks,” claiming victory over the other political components which showed up to the session.
“A drone belonging to the Turkish occupation targeted a car carrying a member of the General Command of the Syriac Military Council Orom Maroge in the town of Tal Tamr,” SDF media head Farhad Shami said in a tweet.
Maroge’s translator was also on board of the vehicle which was caught in the Turkish airstrike. “[Maroge] was escorting the Russian side heading to the Tal Tamr power station,” he added.
A conflict monitor, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) on Sunday reported alleged Turkish bombardment hit Tal Tamir and Zirgan district in Hasaka province without causing civilian casualties.
The Kurdish-led SDF forces have partnered with U.S. forces since 2016 to fight Islamic State in northeastern Syria.
They run the semi-autonomous region of the country's northeast that they carved out during Syria's civil war.