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'I would go tomorrow': Inside Kirkuk after the changeover. KIRKUK, Iraq - "We want liquor! " It's an honest assessment from Farideen Yaseen, a father of four, queuing at Ashour Yakoub's salad bar in Kirkuk city centre. Yakoub has owned the takeaway restaurant and a neighbouring spirits shop in Kirkuk for 20 years. "Whisky was very popular. People used to buy a mixture of salads to go with their drinks," he said, pointing to the red cabbage, pickled carrots and hummus in the chiller counter. Local businessman Ashour Yakoub says the taking of the city has been bad for business (MEE/Leila Molana-Allen) "My favourite is the baba ganoush," he said, recalling a fine Lebanese arak (an anise-flavoured spirit) that went down well alongside the aubergine dip – as did jejek, a mixture of cucumber and thick yoghurt. "No, these are better," chimed a smartly dressed customer, sporting polished black shoes and a trim moustache, and pointing at the pickles.

The mezze on sale are clearly popular – but Kirkuk residents are missing a drink. Beyond the alcohol. 'We want them out': Iraq protesters call for US troops exit. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, after Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr called for a "million-strong" march to demand the withdrawal of US troops from the country, putting the protest-hit city on edge. The demonstration on Friday added an extra layer to the months-old protest movement that has gripped the capital and the Shia-majority south since October, demanding a government overhaul, early elections and more accountability. More: 'Here to stay', vow Iraqi protesters as deadly violence surges 'Perilous times' for Iraq's Shia militias after Soleimani killing Sadr calls for 'million-man march' against US presence in Iraq In the early hours of Friday, protesters, including men, women and children of all ages, carried Iraqi flags and marched under grey skies.

Loudspeakers blasted "No, no America! " at a central square in Baghdad. Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from the protest, said the turnout was a "real show of strength". Baghdad: Iraqi forces in full control of Kirkuk | Iraq News | Al Jazeera. The Iraqi army says it has taken full control of Kirkuk following a major advance on Kurdish-held territories. The federal government in Baghdad and sources inside the city told Al Jazeera on Monday that Iraqi security forces had captured the governorate building in the centre of Kirkuk city.

According to security forces, troops moved into the building with no opposition from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters. A dozen Humvees from Iraq's US-trained Counterterrorism Service arrived at the building and took position in the vicinity, alongside the local city police. There was no immediate comment from Kurdish authorities. 'Complete withdrawal' The advance was part of a major operation to retake the oil-rich province, amid an escalating dispute in the wake of a controversial September 25 referendum on Kurdish secession that Baghdad had declared illegal. He noted that was "really surprising" was the speed with which Kirkuk had fallen as it took Iraqi forces only about 15 hours to capture the city. Barzani’s dream and the division of Iraq are over and Abadi criticises Soleimani.

Published here: via By Elijah J. Magnier: Kurdistan Iraq has announced that it had “frozen the results of the referendum for independence” and that it is ready to negotiate with the central government of Baghdad. Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani has ended the idea of dividing Iraq indefinitely and has succumbed to Baghdad’s determination to regain control of the country. Not only did Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi recover all the land seized by the Kurdish forces who exploited the occupation of the “Islamic State” group (ISIS) to Iraqi areas in 2014, he is deploying the Iraqi forces along the lines and territories adopted in March 2003 as the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan autonomous area.

Masoud Barzani has lost all the privileges and gains he has made in the last 10 years that have given Kurdistan unparalleled prosperity. The Kurdish leader is at a low point in his reputation and popularity among Iraqis, including Kurds. Like this: Like Loading... Battle for Mosul launched by Iraq PM Haider al-Abadi - News from Al Jazeera. Iraqi government forces have launched a campaign to retake Mosul, the de-facto capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Iraq. Up to 1.5 million civilians remain in the city, according to the United Nations, amid fears that the vastly outnumbered ISIL fighters could use them as human shields as they seek to repel the assault on its last major stronghold in the country.

Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the last urban centre still under ISIL control in Iraq after a series of government offensives to reverse the group's seizure of territory in 2014. "The hour has come and the moment of great victory is near," Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's prime minister, said early on Monday in a speech broadcast on state TV, surrounded by the armed forces' top commanders. The bid to retake Mosul comes after the military, backed by armed tribes, militias and US-led coalition air strikes, regained much of the territory the fighters seized in 2014 and 2015. "This is urban territory. Behind Erdogan’s Dismissive Statements to Iraq’s Prime Minister. October 12, 2016 Turkey’s Iraq policy changed considerably in the past half-decade. Turkey has implicitly broken with its “one Iraq” policy and, since 2010, has taken steps to deepen alliances with political actors, committed to the further decentralization—and, in the longer term, break-up—of the Iraqi state.

This policy is a sharp departure from Turkey’s history of advocacy for a strong, centralized Iraqi state, without an independent and strong Kurdish region. Turkey’s implicit advocacy for the further decentralization of the Iraqi state, is demonstrated by alliances with the former governor of Ninewa, Atheel al-Nujaifi, and his brother, Osama. These two men are also close to the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Massoud Barzani, who heads the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. This shift in policy is further complicated by a recent controversy over Turkish troops in Northern Iraq. Diga di Mosul, il punto della situazione. Facciamo il punto sulla Diga di Mosul che, acceso gli animi in certi momenti, sembra essere finita nel dimenticatoio dei grandi media. di Francesco Cecchini La diga, una cinquantina di chilometri a nord di Mosul, Iraq, lunga 3,2 km e alta 131 m, è in riparazione.

L’intervento è dovuto al fatto che il suolo di fondazione non era adatto alla struttura. Alla riparazione della diga di Mosul, sta lavorando un’impresa italiana di Cesena, la Trevi, protetta da 500 militari italiani. Già a metà dicembre 2015 Matteo Renzi ne aveva parlato: “Siamo in Iraq per l’addestramento ma anche con un’operazione importante nella diga di Mosul, cuore di un’area molto pericolosa al confine con lo stato islamico, è seriamente danneggiata e se crollasse Baghdad sarebbe distrutta.

Matteo Renzi riprende un drammatico allarmismo, vedere le dichiarazioni del governo USA, i rapporti del Corps of Engineers, il Genio Civile americano, e perfino un grido d’allarme dell’ONU, riguardo le condizioni di sicurezza della diga. Erdogan: Turkey 'will be at table' for Mosul talks. Guido Olimpio - Qualcuno mi avevo chiesto news su Mosul,...

Guido Olimpio - Trappola a Mosul MOSUL, Iraq (AP) _ Hours... How to resolve Iraq’s Shiite militia problem | Brookings Institution. The operation to liberate Mosul will almost certainly bring an end to the Islamic State’s territorial control in Iraq and will be the death knell of the so-called “Caliphate.” But what comes next? Iraq lacks the resources and the capacity to rebuild the towns and cities that have been destroyed since the anti-ISIS campaign was launched, and there are no guarantees the international community will fill that gap. Iraq is suffering the consequences of corruption, sectarianism, and dysfunctional governance—but those aren’t new.

To compound matters for the Iraqi state, and its people, it also has to contend with the rise of Shiite militia groups. Understanding the problem Shiite militias, who function as part of an umbrella organization of disparate militia groups known as the Hash’d al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Force, or PMF) rose to prominence because of their battlefield successes against ISIS after the collapse of the Iraqi army in 2014. What to do Get daily updates from Brookings. Il parlamento iracheno ha votato la fiducia al governo di Mustafa al-Kadhimi, ex capo dei servizi segreti. Il parlamento iracheno questa notte ha votato la fiducia al nuovo governo guidato da Mustafa al-Kadhimi, 53enne ex capo dei servizi segreti del paese e giornalista, dopo sei mesi di crisi in seguito alle dimissioni presentate nel novembre scorso dall’ex primo ministro Abdul Mahdi, che è stato il primo capo di governo a non completare il suo mandato in Iraq dopo la fine della dittatura di Saddam Hussein.

Al-Kadhimi guiderà un governo con 15 ministri, mentre normalmente sono 22, dopo il rifiuto di numerosi candidati. I ministeri chiave nel settore petrolifero e degli esteri sono ancora vacanti. Mahdi si era dimesso lo scorso anno dopo che migliaia di persone erano scese in piazza contro il suo governo e c’erano state violente repressioni da parte dell’esercito. Sul suo profilo Twitter al-Kadhimi ha scritto che il suo governo punterà alla «sovranità, sicurezza, stabilità e prosperità dell’Iraq». Iran-Usa, le modalità dell'attacco missilistico alle basi militari. L’Iran ha scelto per la sua rappresaglia un’arma spesso impiegata nel teatro mediorientale. Primo. La base di al Asad è a 370 chilometri dal territorio iraniano, quella di Erbil a 105, ossia a distanze che possono essere «battute» da molti dei missili in possesso delle forze iraniane. Fin dagli anni ’80 Teheran ha sviluppato questo tipo di ordigni e li ha impiegati nella guerra contro l’Iraq, successivamente alcuni «modelli» sono stati forniti ai suoi alleati.

In settembre c’è stato l’attacco ai siti petroliferi sauditi eseguito con la combinazione droni-missili. Gli addetti ai lavori suggeriscono che nella rappresaglia di queste ore siano stati usati i Qiam 1 e i Fateh. Secondo. Terzo. Quarto. Quinto. Sesto. Iraq parliament passes resolution to expel US-led coalition troops from country. Iraq’s parliament passed on Sunday a resolution calling on the government to end all foreign troop presence in Iraq, as backlash grew after the killing of a top Iranian military commander and an Iraqi militia leader in a US strike in Baghdad.

“The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting Islamic State due to the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory,” the resolution read. “The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason.” The resolution’s main aim is to get the United States to withdraw some its approximately 5,000 troops present in different parts of Iraq. It reflects the concern of many in Iraq that the US strike killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis could engulf them in a major war between two bigger powers.

US reactions “We’ll watch. Iraq war map: Who controls what. Iraq: premier designato Allawi rinuncia all’incarico di formare il governo. Baghdad, 02 mar 08:17 - (Agenzia Nova) - Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, premier designato iracheno, ha annunciato la sua rinuncia all’incarico di formare un nuovo governo per il paese a causa di “pressioni politiche”. Lo riferisce il quotidiano panarabo "Al Arabi Al Jadid".

Allawi ha accusato alcune formazioni politiche di non guardare al superiore interesse nazionale ma solamente al proprio vantaggio. Queste compagini, secondo Allawi, "non si sono dimostrate serie riguardo all'attuazione delle riforme promesse al popolo" e hanno frapposto ostacoli sulla strada di un nuovo governo indipendente. "Se avessi accettato di offrire concessioni, ora sarei il primo ministro, ma ho tentato di fare il possibile per salvare il Paese dalla caduta verso l'ignoto e risolvere l'attuale crisi. I negoziati, però, si sono incagliati ripetuti ostacoli". L’ormai ex premier designato ha anche notato che la nomina del suo sostituto dovrebbe avvenire entro quindici giorni secondo la costituzione irachena. Iraqi Forces Begin Assault Near Kurdish-Held City of Kirkuk - The New York Times. Iraqi Kurdish opposition welcomes Abadi's post-referendum measures. In a meeting with parliament members Sept. 27, two days after authorities in Erbil held a referendum on Kurdish independence, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he would impose the rule of federal authority by force in the Iraqi Kurdistan region via the constitution and the law.

Addressing Kurdish authorities, Abadi said, “You become my partner in governing Iraq; I become your partner in governing Iraqi Kurdistan. The equation should be like that.” Abadi also warned the Kurdistan Regional Government that he would surprise them with a series of measures against the separatist movement within its government. At the same time, he also announced that he would not take any punitive measures against Kurdish citizens, that he would not accept any assault against them and that he wouldn’t accept any violence against citizens — whether or not they were Kurds. However, Baghdad refuses any dialogue with Iraqi Kurdistan. Kirkuk, è iniziata la nuova guerra del petrolio. Il Medio Oriente non ha pace. Non si è ancora conclusa la battaglia di Raqqa che già si apre un altro fronte: quello di Kirkuk. Per uno "Stato" (islamico) che va spazzato via in nome della lotta al terrorismo, ce n'è un altro che va soffocato sul nascere affinché non produca un effetto-domino: è lo Stato del Kurdistan iracheno.

Il Grande Kurdistan: è lo spettro che agita la Turchia, che impensierisce l'Iran, che mette in crisi l'unità dello Stato iracheno sotto il governo (sciita) di Baghdad e che potrebbe reclamare un suo spazio anche nella spartizione della Siria. La battaglia di Kirkuk segna dunque l'inizio di una nuova guerra in Medio Oriente: la "guerra del petrolio". Cronaca di guerra. Il comando congiunto delle operazioni delle forze irachene ha annunciato di aver preso il controllo di diverse posizione chiave a Kirkuk. Nel comunicato si legge inoltre che le forze della sicurezza irachena hanno preso il controllo di tre zone industriali, di Tarklan e della città di Baiji.

Kurdistan24. Lawmakers urge administration to focus on what comes after Mosul. LIVE BLOG: The battle for Mosul. Mosul Eye, a blog which reports from inside the city, describes the conditions since the start of the Iraqi offensive. It describes Islamic State presence as patchy, although strong in many places including a section of the city rich with a bomb-making factories, prison camps holding thousands of people - including Yazidi women enslaved by the group after the capture of Sinjar in 2014. MEE has summarised the blog, but you can read the full post by clicking this link. Surveillance aircraft in sky at all hours.An uneasy quietness in the city.

People are out for few hours and then disappear. Life in the city is over by 4pm.IS fighters do not appear much. IS has released two videos from inside the city in recent days. Some of the comments in the video: "Thanks and praise be to God, everything is fine here in Mosul. "The situation in Mosul is extraordinary. Translations: "God promised victory and promised hardships so we are patient and joyful. Lo hanno sorpreso nel cortile di casa iraniano, lungo la strada che dall’aeroporto porta verso Ba... Mine, trincee e trappole Così difendono i jihadisti. Mosul Dam collapse 'will be worse than a nuclear bomb' - News from Al Jazeera. Nell'inferno di Baghdad: "Sembrava un girone dell'inferno, questo Paese non ha futuro" Non fu Saddam a gasare i curdi: l'insabbiato rapporto dell'USAWC - Andrea Carancini. Outlook – free personal email and calendar from Microsoft.

Putin resets Iraqi energy landscape as Barzani steps aside. Raid Usa, in migliaia in piazza a Teheran contro Trump. L'ambasciata a Bagdad: "Lasciate il Paese". Red Cross: One million could flee Mosul battle in Iraq - News from Al Jazeera. Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone after protests turn violent. Rockets hit Baghdad's Green Zone after protests turn violent. Saudi Arabia engages Iraq after a quarter century. The collapse of Iraq's Shiite alliance. US-Iran tensions after Soleimani killing: All the latest updates | Iran News. Why aren't Mosul residents returning to liberated areas?