Recently, the Kurdish nation has been making strides on the international scene disproportionate to its relatively small population and land area. In Iraq, the Autonomous Region has maintained a degree of control over the Kirkuk oil fields, even as they’ve opened them for export. In Turkish Kurdistan, the PKK has continued to stand against Ankara. Most significantly, though, Rojava has… Read more »
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Ankara on Saturday rejected American plans to install military observation posts along its border with Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), a fledgling US-allied de facto entity whose destruction it has long sought. “We have stated that the observation points to be established by US troops on the Syrian border will have a very negative impact,” Turkish Defense Minister… Read more »
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region has an exceptional reputation of inclusivity in all aspects of its society from ethnicity to religion, and although there is progress, there should be more participation for women, especially in government, Clarisse Pásztory, the Head of the European Union’s Liaison Office in Erbil, said on Sunday. The EU representative in the Kurdistan Region’s… Read more »
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq will unify customs procedures in all of its border areas, including within semi-autonomous Kurdistan, the prime minister said on Wednesday, signaling a further thaw in ties between Baghdad and Erbil after a resumption of Kirkuk oil flows. The decision will be implemented after the federal government in Baghdad reaches an agreement on the move with the… Read more »
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation of doctors from the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG) arrived in the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Saturday to discuss their delivery of voluntary medical services to displaced people in the Kurdistan Region. On Sunday, they met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, in Erbil. The… Read more »
AFRIN (Kurdistan 24) – At least 25 militants have been killed and dozens more wounded on Sunday in heavy clashes between Turkish-backed insurgent factions in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin, a war monitor said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said fighting in several districts of Afrin erupted between the Olive Branch groups, backed by the Turkish… Read more »
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US forces have deployed along the border between Rojava and Turkey to deter Turkish aggression against Kurdish forces, according to multiple sources. On Friday, US forces started “patrolling on the border… to ease tensions and stop Turkey from launching attacks,” Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) media representative Mustafa Bali stated. This week, Turkish forces have targeted Kurdish… Read more »
WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran, Andrew Peek, explained on Wednesday that the US was strongly urging the Iraqi government to resume the export of oil from Kirkuk to Turkey. Those exports were cut off last year after Iraqi forces, in a military operation engineered by Qasim Soleimani, head of the Quds… Read more »
No talks on government formation yet: PUK Though the Kurdistan Region parliament held its first session on Tuesday, talks about forming the next government or selecting senior figures have not begun, said Saadi Pira, spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). “No meeting has been held between the political parties to discuss a post,” he told reporters on Tuesday…. Read more »
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish semi-autonomous region will abide by decisions made by the federal government of Iraq regarding US sanctions on neighboring Iran, a Kurdish official affirmed on Sunday. “The Kurdistan Region is part of Iraq,” the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Safeen Dizayee, told Kurdistan 24. “Whatever the federal government of Iraq decides, the Kurdistan… Read more »