MESOPOTAMIA NEWS REPORT : Iraq erects new border posts as Turkey-PKK clashes intensify, forcing village evacuation
Halgurd Sherwani – Members of the Iraqi Border Police are pictured at a military post on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey. ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi forces have erected four new military posts on the border between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey amid a new round of clashes between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), forcing nearby villagers to abandon their homes.
The move by Iraqi border police on Tuesday came after Turkey launched a new round of airstrikes and a ground operation – dubbed Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt – against its decades-old archenemy, the PKK. The main battlefield for the renewed war is the border areas of the Kurdistan Region, which on Tuesday witnessed an overnight village evacuation due to the conflict.
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : THE ANTI-KURDISH (ANT-PKK) INVASION OF TURKS IN IRAQ HAS STOPPED !
5 May 2021 – The Turkish Defence Minister underlined the “high tech” equipment that the Kurdish fighters have been using. “They have remote-controlled Dochkas. Even if the air forces are able to hit them, they [Kurdish fighters] somehow ensure their own safety. They use sniper rifles we call the Zagros. They have the Bixi [PK machine gun], the RPG [Russian hand-held disposable anti-tank grenade launcher], the kalashnikov. They also use the kalashnikovs with silencers. They have bazookas. They have various high-tech war systems,” Akar said.
Turkish Defence Minister: ‘Our helicopters are unable to land’
As Turkey’s cross-border operations in northern Iraq continue, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar shared critical information regarding the “challenges” that the Turkish military faces in the battle against Kurdish fighters.
12:20 pm 04/05/2021MEDYA NEWS
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS FOCUS : Iraq scolds Turkey over latest anti-PKK offensive in Iraqi Kurdistan
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar visited a military base in northern Iraq to supervise Turkish operations against PKK militants, drawing anger from Baghdad.
Amberin Zaman May 4, 2021 – AL MONITOR – Iraq has formally complained — yet again — over Turkey’s escalating military presence on its soil. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that it had summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires and handed him “a protest note” over “violations of Iraqi sovereignty” arising from the May 1 visit by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to a Turkish military base in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey responded that it fully respected Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity and signaled its intention to carry on the operation, saying it was in line with efforts to eradicate rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Iraq summons Turkish diplomat to slam military base visit by minister
- Ahval NEWS May 04 2021 12:19 Gmt+3 – Iraq’s foreign ministry summoned Turkey’s chargé d’affairs to Baghdad to express its strong resentment at a visit by the Turkish defence minister to a military base in the north of the country.
Senior undersecretary Nizar Al-Khairalla handed the diplomat a formal note of protest, complaining that Turkey was breaking international law by infringing on Iraq’s territorial integrity, the ministry said on Monday.
“The Iraqi government expressed its strong resentment and condemnation of the presence of Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar in Iraqi territory and meeting with Turkish forces that are illegally present there without coordination or prior approval by the relevant authorities in Iraq,” the ministry said.
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS OPINION: Could a NATO ‘surrogate force’ replace US troops in Iraq? – The US announced earlier this month that it would be removing combat forces.
Date of publication: 27 April, 2021 – By Brooke Anderson – THE NEW ARAB
Analysis: Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the US has repeatedly pledged to leave, each time resulting in broken promises, renegotiations and in some cases an increase in forces.
Washington DC, The New Arab – On 1 May, 18 years ago, George W. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf and declared “Mission accomplished” – a move that was quickly mocked, more so over subsequent years, as the US was largely deemed to be a destabilising force in a country it was ostensibly aiming to liberate, democratise and secure.
Since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the US has repeatedly pledged to leave, with each instance resulting in broken promises and renegotiations – and in some cases an increase in forces.
America’s 2007 and 2011 pledges to leave Iraq resulted in no clear plan, and with the growing threat of the Islamic State (IS), the US increased its forces at the request of the Iraqi government, though again with no clear timetable for withdrawal.
This time, with the Iraqi parliament’s decision last year to remove US forces, following the establishment the previous year of NATO-supported institutions, and now with a significant decrease in IS membership (from around 35,000 at its peak, down to around 8,000 today), there appears to be a more coherent plan.
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) INSIGHT
Gorran member and fierce critic of KDP, joins Barzani’s party, urges others to do so
Posted on May 2, 2021 by more via www.mesop.de – Gorran member Abdulla Kwexa Mubarak joins Barzani’s KDP party, Photo: 2018/fb
SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— Abdulla Kwexa Mubarak, a long-time member of the Change (Gorran) Movement and a fierce critic of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), confirmed his defection to the Barzani’s KDP on Sunday.
During a press conference announcing his controversial switch, Mubarak said that “the KDP is a loyal party towards its members and supporters and has embraced us.”
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS KURDISH PKK IN DANGER ! – Karayilan: Battles in legitimate defense zones are strategic battles
HPG Commander Murat Karayilan asserted that the Gerîla Forces are fighting historical resistance in legitimate defense zones Medyayê, and said, “We won, but the comrades must not live the trance of victory.”
KURDISTAN 02 May 2021, Sun – 14:46 2021-05-02 – Murat Karayilan spoke by radio with the fighters in the regions of Avaşînê, Zapê and Metînayê n the occasion of May 1st, World Workers’ Day.
<span “=””>The following are excerpts from the speech of HPG Commander Murat Karayilan: “The leadership of our party, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the struggle of the workers has reached at the highest levels, and the struggle of democratic socialism and toil is escalating in Kurdistan with the thought of the leader.
It is known that the month of May is the month of the martyrs, and in the person of the martyr <span “=””>Hakî Karer, we commemorate the martyrs of the revolution in Kurdistan with respect.
We will achieve the dreams of these martyrs and step up the struggle and resistance against attacks by the Turkish Occupying State on legitimate defense zones, which are not routine resistance; It is historical, and now there is significant and meaningful resistance Avaşînê, Zapê and Metînayê areas, and it will have important results at the political and military levels. So we say it’s not a routine resistance, and at this historic stage in the Kurdistan freedom war, this resistance is proceeding on a strategic level.
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS INTERESTING ! : Biden’s responses to attacks in Iraq sending ‘wrong signal’ to Iran: Jay Garner
Rudaw 1. May 2021 -ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Retired United States Army Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner says President Joe Biden’s “timid” responses to attacks on international targets in Iraq are sending the wrong message to Iran.
Rudaw’s Bestoon Khalid on Tuesday interviewed the former commanding general for US forces during the 1991 Joint Task Force Bravo-Operation Provide Comfort, which delivered humanitarian aid to Kurds fleeing the Baath regime’s persecution and enforced a no-fly zone.
“When you’re attacked, you respond with force is a way to do it, but they haven’t,” said Garner, who was also briefly appointed as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “We’ve always responded with force. […] He’s only been president for about three months. So you got to wait and see what he does, but he has been very timid with his responses thus far.
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Ankara seeks to limit KURDISH PKK movement with new Duhok military base: minister
Karwan Faidhi Dri 1 May 2021 – ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Ankara will establish a new military base in the Metina area of Duhok province to block the movement of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the area, Turkey’s interior minister told members of his party, according to media reports.
“The operations in northern Iraq will continue. Metina region is an important place. Just like we did in Syria, we will establish bases and control the area,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said during a closed meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), pro-government Turkiye news outlet reported on Friday.
“This region is a route to Qandil and we will control this line,” he added, referring to PKK headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains.
MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : Ankara seeks to limit PKK movement with new Duhok military base: minister
2 hours ago – 30 April 2021 – Karwan Faidhi Dri – ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Ankara will establish a new military base in the Metina area of Duhok province to block the movement of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in the area, Turkey’s interior minister told members of his party, according to media reports.
“The operations in northern Iraq will continue. Metina region is an important place. Just like we did in Syria, we will establish bases and control the area,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said during a closed meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), pro-government Turkiye news outlet reported on Friday.
« neuere Artikel / next articles ältere Artikel / previous articles »