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Kurdish Leader Barzani Resigns After Failure of his Secession Attempt, Iraqi Forces Control Border Posts, with Few Skirmishes

October 30, 2017

 

Iraqi government paramilitary troops in Mosul, October 2017	Kurdish leader, Mass'oud Barzani, resigned on October 29, 2017

 

Barzani resigns as President of the Kurdistan autonomous region after failure of the independence referendum bid to secede from Iraq. The US and France mediated his resignation in return for not being prosecuted by Iraqi federal government. ما أسباب تنحي البارزاني عن رئاسة كردستان ؟ 30 أكتوبر 2017  ، المصدر:وكالة يقين واجه رئيس كردستان المنتهية ولايته “مسعود بارزاني” ضغوطا كبيرة داخلية وخارجية عقب استفتاء كردستان الذي تسبب في دخول البلاد في مأزق سياسي ، وفي هذا السياق ، كشف القيادي في حزب الاتحاد الوطني الكردستاني “آوات محمد” عن وجود صفقة أمريكية-فرنسية ، اجبرت بارزاني على التنحي عن الرئاسة ، مقابل عدم ملاحقته قضائياً من بغداد. وقال محمد في تصريح صحفي إن “هناك معلومات بشأن صفقة امريكية فرنسية، اجبرت بارزاني، على التنحي عن الرئاسة، بمقابل عدم ملاحقته قضائياً من بغداد”. وأضاف محمد أن “رسالة بارزاني للبرلمان كانت ضمن مخرَج أميركي فرنسي، لحفظ ماء وجه الرجل وتجنيبه سقوطاً سياسياً، عبر إقالته أو استقالته، بعد فشل الاستفتاء وما ترتب عليه بعد ذلك من ضياع كركوك والمناطق الأخرى المتنازع عليها”. وتابع محمد أن “الاتحاد الوطني والتغيير كانا قد اتفقا على طرح عدم التمديد للبارزاني والتصويت ضد أي محاولة تمديد لفترة رئاسته بكل الأحوال”. http://yaqein.net/politics/66816

 

Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani resigns after independence vote backfires

Masoud Barzani said he will give up his position as president on Nov. 1

CBC News, Thomson Reuters Posted: Oct 29, 2017 4:23 PM ET

Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani said he would give up his position as president on Nov. 1, after an independence referendum he championed backfired and triggered a regional crisis.

There was high drama at the Kurdish parliament, which was stormed by armed protesters, as it met to approve the veteran leader's resignation as Kurdish president. Some MPs were barricaded in their offices on Sunday evening.

In a televised address, his first since Iraqi forces launched a surprise offensive to recapture Kurdish-held territory on Oct. 16, Barzani confirmed that he would not extend his presidential term after Nov. 1 "under any conditions."

"I am the same Masoud Barzani, I am a Peshmerga [Kurdish fighter] and will continue to help my people in their struggle for independence," said Barzani, who has campaigned for Kurdish self-determination for nearly four decades.

The address followed a letter he sent to parliament in which he asked members to take measures to fill the resulting power vacuum.

The region's parliament met in the Kurdish capital Erbil on Sunday to discuss the letter. A majority of 70 Kurdish MPs voted to accept Barzani's request and 23 opposed it, Kurdish TV channels Rudaw and Kurdistan 24 said.

Demonstrators, some carrying clubs and guns, stormed the parliament building as the session was in progress. Gunshots were heard. Some protesters outside the building said they wanted to "punish" MPs who they said had "insulted" Barzani. Some attacked journalists at the scene.

A Kurdish official had told Reuters on Saturday that Barzani had decided to hand over the presidency without waiting for elections that had been set for Nov. 1 but which have now been delayed by eight months.

The region, which had enjoyed unprecedented autonomy for years, has been in turmoil since the independence referendum a month ago prompted military and economic retaliation from Iraq's central government in Baghdad.

Barzani speaks to reporters during a press conference in Erbil, Iraq, in this Sept. 24 file photo, taken just before the referendum. (Khalid Mohammed/Associated Press)

In his address, Barzani vigorously defended his decision to hold the Sept. 25 referendum. "Three million votes for Kurdistan independence created history and cannot be erased," he said.

The vote was overwhelmingly for independence and triggered the military action by the Baghdad government and threats from neighbouring Turkey and Iran.

He added that the Iraqi attack on Kirkuk and other Kurdish held territory vindicated his position that Baghdad no longer believed in federalism and instead wanted to curtail Kurdish rights.

Criticizes U.S.

Barzani condemned the United States for failing to back the Kurds. "We tried to stop bloodshed but the Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilization Front [Shia militias] kept advancing, using U.S. weapons," he said. "Our people should now question whether the U.S. was aware of Iraq's attack and why they did not prevent it."

Barzani has been criticized by Kurdish opponents for the loss of the city of Kirkuk, oil-rich and considered by many Kurds to be their spiritual home. His resignation could help facilitate a reconciliation between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq's central government, whose retaliatory measures since the referendum have transformed the balance of power in the north.

Barzani has led the KRG since it was established in 2005. His second term expired in 2013, but was extended without elections as ISIS militants swept across vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria in their fight for an Islamist state.

U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces, Iranian-backed paramilitary groups, and Kurdish fighters fought alongside each other to defeat ISIS. But the alliance has faltered since the militants were largely defeated in the country. After the Kurdish referendum, Iraqi troops were ordered by the country's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, to take control of areas claimed by both Baghdad and the KRG.

Al-Abadi also wants to take control of the border crossings between the Kurdish region and Turkey, Iran and Syria, including one through which an oil export pipeline crosses into Turkey, carrying Iraqi and Kurdish crude oil. The fall of Kirkuk — a multi-ethnic city which lies outside the KRG's official boundaries — to Iraqi forces on Oct. 16 was a major symbolic and financial blow to the Kurds' independence drive because it halved the region's oil export revenue.

In his resignation speech, Barzani placed the blame elsewhere for the city's loss. He said followers of rival Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, who died in early October, had been guilty of "high treason" for handing over the oil city of Kirkuk to Iraqi forces without a fight two weeks ago.

Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga started a second round of talks on Sunday to resolve a conflict over control of the Kurdistan region's border crossings, Iraqi state TV said. A first round was held on Friday and Saturday, with al-Abadi ordering a 24-hour suspension on Friday of military operations against Kurdish forces.

He demanded on Thursday that the Kurds declare their referendum void, rejecting the KRG offer to suspend its independence push to resolve a crisis through talks, saying in a statement: "We won't accept anything but its cancellation and the respect of the constitution." 

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U.S.-Coalition denies ceasefire agreement between Baghdad, Erbil

by Nehal Mostafa Oct 27, 2017, 5:11 pm

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com)

The U.S.-led Coalition has denied reaching an agreement on ceasefire between Baghdad and Erbil, hours after declaring an agreement was reached on Friday.

“I incorrectly said in interview today with @RudawEnglish there was a “ceasefire” b/w Iraqi and Kurdish forces,” Col. Ryan Dillon, the spokesperson for the Coalition in Baghdad, said on Twitter.

Both parties talking w/ one another, but not an official “ceasefire,” Dillon said in another tweet.

Earlier on the day, Dillon said in an interview with Rudaw TV “what we know is that there is a cease-fire,”adding that they seek the ceasefire to be extended so both parties would focus on fighting Islamic State.

According to Patriotic Union of Kurdistan official, previously today, the agreement will last for 24 hours only.

Speaking to Baghdad Today, Ghayyath al-Surji said, “after developments between Iraqi troops and Peshmerga in Rabia and Zummar, several communications were made before reaching a 24-hour ceasefire agreement.”

“Iraqi and Peshmerga leaders will hold meetings over the coming few hours to discuss the situation of Faysh Khabur and other regions, where Peshmerga is still deployed,” he added.

Iraqi troops have reportedly given the Peshmerga troops two-hour ultimatum to withdraw from Faysh Khabur border crossing on Iraqi-Turkish-Syrian borders.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council said on Thursday Iraqi forces have launched an attack against the Kurdish Peshmerga troops deployed in Zummar, northwestern Nineveh,

Iraqi troops headed on Wednesday toward Ibrahim al-Khalil border crossing in Duhuq between Iraq and Turkey to impose control on it, Russian Sputnik news agency reported.

Earlier this week, a source from the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, told Al-Ghad Press that army troops are getting ready to advance toward Faysh Khabour exit, between Iraq and Syria, within the coming few hours. He added that the exit border was located within Mosul before 2003.

Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote for independence from Iraq in September, urging Peshmerga to cooperate with federal troops.

Peshmerga has two hours to leave exit near Syria, Turkey: Source

by Nehal Mostafa Oct 27, 2017, 3:05 pm

Erbil (IraqiNews.com)

Iraqi troops have given the (Kurdish) Peshmerga troops two-hour ultimatum to withdraw from border crossing on Iraqi-Turkish-Syrian borders, a Kurdish security source said on Friday.

Speaking to Al-Ghad Press on Friday, the source said, “the federal troops informed Kurdish troops deployed at Faysh Khabour border crossing that they will attack the crossing in two hours and urged them to withdraw before end of the period.”

The Kurdistan Region Security Council said on Thursday Iraqi forces have launched an attack against the Kurdish Peshmerga troops deployed in Zummar, northwestern Ninewah,

Iraqi troops headed on Wednesday toward Ibrahim al-Khalil border crossing in Duhuq between Iraq and Turkey to impose control on it, Russian Sputnik news agency reported.

Earlier this week, a source from the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, told Al-Ghad Press that army troops are getting ready to advance toward Faysh Khabour exit, between Iraq and Syria, within the coming few hours. He added that the exit border was located within Mosul before 2003.

Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote for independence from Iraq in September, urging Peshmerga to cooperate with federal troops.

15 personnel of Peshmerga, PMFs killed, injured, northwest Mosul

by Nehal Mostafa Oct 26, 2017, 11:30 pm

Zummar (IraqiNews.com)

Fifteen people of Kurdish and Shia-led troops were killed and injured during confrontations that occurred on Thursday in northwest Mosul, an informed source said.

“The confrontations that occurred today in Zummar left two personnel killed and six others wounded of Peshmerga’s fourth brigade. They were transferred to Duhuq hospitals,” the source told Alghad Press.

“Clashes also left four personnel of al-Hashd al-Shaabi [Popular Mobilization Forces], including leaders, killed and others wounded in al-Jazrawiya village.

In related news, a Peshmerga source said chief of Kurdistan Democratic Party’s Sinjar branch was killed in artillery shelling in Zummar.

“Wahid Bakuzi was killed as artillery shelling targeted Peshmerga locations in Zummar, the source told AlSumaria News.

“Two personnel of Bakuzi’s guards were killed in the shelling,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

Earlier on the day, the Kurdistan Region Security Council said Iraqi troops have launched an attack against Peshmerga troops deployed in Zummar.

KRG offered on Wednesday to impose a ceasefire and resort to dialogue to defuse the military and political standoff with Baghdad.

Iraqi forces reportedly tightened their control, on the same day, over the Rabia border crossing with Syria after the withdrawal of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Moreover, troops headed toward Ibrahim al-Khalil border crossing with Turkey seeking control on it.

Peshmerga evacuates Makhmur region near Erbil: Source

by Nehal Mostafa Oct 25, 2017, 1:12 pm

Erbil (IraqiNews.com)

The Kurdish Peshmerga troops have evacuated Makhmur region near Erbil after receiving instructions, an informed source told Alghad Press on Wednesday.

“Kurdish military troops are currently in negotiations to end violence between the two sides in Erbil and Duhuq,” the source said, adding that orders were made by the Ministry of Peshmerga to withdraw troops.

“All elements of the Peshmerga’s elite forces in other regions in Erbil and Duhuq have withdrawn, leaving the Zarvani troops only,” the source added.

In related news, informed sources said Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani ordered releasing Iraqi soldiers who were captivated near Makhmur, Dijlah TV website reported.

The website also quoted a military source as saying that reinforcements of Federal Police and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) headed to Makhmur after many Iraqi soldiers were wounded and others were captivated by Peshmerga.

On Tuesday, PMFs denied attacking Peshmerga in Makhmur, after the Kurdish troops reportedly repulsed PMFs attack there.

Iraqi military denied earlier Tuesday news on confrontations between PMFs and the Peshmerga troops in al-Mahmoudiya village in Nineveh. This came after Peshmerga announced repulsed attack by the Shia-led paramilitary troops in the village.

A source from the Iraqi army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, told Alghad Press on Monday that army troops are getting ready to advance toward Faysh Khabur exit, between Iraq and Turkey, within the coming few hours. He added that the exit border was located within Mosul before 2003.

Three Iraqi army soldiers killed in clashes with Peshmerga in Mosul

by Mohamed Mostafa Oct 24, 2017, 10:24 pm

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Three Iraqi army soldiers died Tuesday in clashes with Kurdish Peshmerga forces north of Mosul, according to an army source.

Maj. Abbas al-Bayyati told Anadolu Agency that a force of the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, backed by the 9th armoured division, advanced towards the  town of Tel Saqf, a mainly Christian town north of Mosul, to impose federal security control there, but was met with fire from Peshmerga.

Bayyati told the agency three army members were killed while two others were injured. He said there were losses on the Peshmerga side, too, but could not give an exact toll.

He was quoted by the agency saying that Peshmerga troops will be handled as an enemy if they reject the call to withdraw.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell denied Kurdish media reports of clashes between Popular Mobilization Forces and Peshmerga in Mahmoudia and Rabia, Mosul, were inaccurate.

Iraqi troops, backed by Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), took over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters earlier this month, fulfilling instructions made earlier by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan Region’s Government. The military takeover came after Kurdistan voted in September to secede from Iraq. 

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