Kurdish saga
Oct 21,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Walid M. Sadi Judging by the recent events and developments on the Iraqi Kurdish front, it appears that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), under the […]
History tells us that nationalist referendums, like those in Kurdistan and the UK, never end well
Kurdish leaders before the referendum and Brexiteers before the vote in 2016 could paint their critics as unpatriotic. Compromise becomes impossible even when the alternative is to disappear over a cliff edge Patrick Cockburn @indyworld Iraq sends artillery into Kirkuk after taking it back from the semi-independent Kurdistan Regional Government […]
View from Turkey: Time for cautious optimism on Iraq
İLNUR ÇEVIK @ilnurcevik Information from Irbil shows that there is a growing pessimism and an atmosphere of dejection especially among the Barzani administration people. This is only normal because they embarked on a mission impossible by insisting on holding a referendum for independence which was not only illegal but […]
Kurdish forces withdraw to June 2014 lines – Iraqi Army Commander
Reuters International This content was published on October 18, 2017 BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Kurdish Peshmerga forces have retreated to positions they held in northern Iraq in June 2014 in response to an Iraqi army advance into the region after a Kurdish independence referendum rejected by Baghdad, a senior Iraqi commander […]
Islamic State nearly expelled from its last urban stronghold in Iraq
Source: The Washington Post By Mustafa Salim and Tamer El-Ghobashy October 5 DIBIS, Iraq — Iraqi forces have reclaimed the town of Hawijah from the Islamic State, Iraq’s prime minister said […]
Christians and Yazidis in Iraq stand on the brink of extinction
Source: Religion News Service By Chris Smith (RNS) — Astonishingly, for three years U.S. government bureaucrats have refused to help endangered religious minority communities like Christians and Yazidis survive the genocide […]
Iran says Tehran, Ankara to confront disintegration of Iraq, Syria: TV
Source: Reuters Ankara (Reuters) – Iran and Turkey will work together to confront the disintegration of Iraq and Syria to ease tension in the crisis-hit region, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani […]
Iraq’s Kurdistan region plans presidential, parliamentary votes on November 1
Reuters International This content was published on October 3, 2017 12:13 PMOct 3, 2017 – 12:13 ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region plans to hold presidential and […]
Iraq offering to pay KRG gov’t employees in full in return for Kirkuk oil: PM Abadi
REUTERS BAGHDAD Iraqi premier-designate Haider al-Abadi speaks at his first press conference since accepting the nomination to be Iraq’s next prime minister, in Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 25, 2014. (AP Photo) Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Saturday pressed the case for the central government in Baghdad to receive the revenue […]
‘Arabs should not miss Iraq, Syria rebuild opportunity’
By JT – Sep 30,2017 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Yarub Qudah on Saturday called on Arab stakeholders to take the initiative and compete for the largest possible share in project worth $2 trillion, designed for Iraq and Syria rebuild schemes, the Jordan News Agency, […]
What Should Trump Do About the Kurds?
By Michael Rubin On 10/1/17 This article first appeared on the American Enterprise Institute site. On September 25, Iraqi Kurdistan held an independence referendum not only in its recognized territory, […]
Last flight departs as Iraq imposes ban for Kurdish independence vote
Reuters International This content was published on September 29, 2017 The Erbil International Airport is seen empty of passengers in Erbil, Iraq September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (reuters_tickers) By Maher […]
Iraqi govt asks KRG to hand over border posts, airports over referendum
COMPILED FROM WIRE SERVICES ISTANBUL A Turkish military helicopter flies near the Habur border gate between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish region in Şırnak province, Turkey. (AA Photo) The Iraqi government asked the Kurdish Regional Government on Sunday to hand over international border posts and its international airports, retaliating […]
As a Kurd, I can tell you why this independence referendum is so crucial
While their neighbours are busy building weapons, the Kurds are taking in refugees, yet many Middle Eastern countries as well as the UK and the US seem to be opposed to Kurdish independence Mohammed Ali The Kurds deserve a chance to speak up about their own independence Reuters Often enough […]
Iraq’s Kurdish region to hold independence vote on September 25
By Reuters – Sep 20,2017 – JORDAN TIMES KIRKUK, Iraq — 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 […]
Isis murdered 80 Iraqis in a terror attack on Friday – but all anyone could talk about was Parsons Green
As an Iraqi living in London, the discrepancy in reaction is hard for me to stomach Amrou Al-Kadhi @glamrou Last Friday, news outlets went on overdrive surrounding the explosion at Parsons Green station. Our media has since been saturated with coverage on it; front pages have featured blurry images of […]
Shattered by war, Sunni Arabs despair over future in Iraq
Source: Associated Press By HAMZA HENDAWI Sep. 10, 2017 KHAZIR CAMP, Iraq (AP) — Fawaz Saleh Ahmed has been secretly sneaking into his own village in northern Iraq to visit […]
Slow recovery for Iraq’s Mosul after Daesh ouster
By AFP – Sep 09,2017 – JORDAN TIMES Iraqi mechanics work in a garage in east Mosul on Wednesday, as they repair vehicles that were damaged during the offensive to retake Iraq’s second-largest city from Daesh (AFP photo) MOSUL, Iraq — Two months since Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul […]
The price of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Aug 23,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Michael Jansen The overwhelming majority of takfiri men who in the past two years mounted attacks against civilians in France, Belgium and Spain have been of Moroccan and Tunisian origin. Their hostility is difficult to explain as these North African countries have escaped the mayhem […]
Iraq’s Kirkuk province to vote in Kurdish independence referendum
Reuters International AUGUST 29, 2017 Members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council vote on the referendum in Kirkuk, Iraq August 29, 2017. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (reuters_tickers) By Raya Jalabi KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq’s oil-producing region of Kirkuk will vote in a referendum on Kurdish independence on Sept. 25, its provisional […]