Latest news with #Anfal
Shafaq News
15 hours ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Ruling clarifies: Federal-KRG disputes cannot impede salary payments
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled that disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cannot be used as grounds to delay or suspend salary payments, KRG Cabinet Secretary Amanj Raheem disclosed. Quoting a February ruling, Raheem highlighted that disagreements over Articles 12 and 13 of the 2023 Federal Budget Law—relating to oil exports and non-oil revenues—must not obstruct monthly payments to employees, retirees, and welfare recipients in the Kurdistan Region. 'This decision reaffirms the court's stance on insulating citizens' livelihoods from political conflict,' Raheem, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party, said in a statement. Earlier, Parliamentary Finance Committee member Raed al-Maliki confirmed that the Ministry of Finance halted salary disbursements to the KRG, citing the Region's failure to transfer required oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, despite the KRG receiving its entitlements. The KRG Ministry of Finance rejected the justification, asserting that Baghdad is constitutionally obliged to continue salary payments to civil servants, retirees, and beneficiaries of the social safety net. It also criticized the federal government for neglecting reparations to survivors of the Anfal campaign and chemical attacks, calling such omissions a breach of duty. In response, the federal Finance Ministry published data indicating that the KRG exceeded its designated budget share by failing to submit full oil and non-oil income, with joint reports from the federal and regional audit bureaus substantiating the findings, leading to the suspension of transfers. The salary dispute comes amid deeper budgetary tensions between Baghdad and Erbil. Since oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkiye's Ceyhan port were suspended in 2023, the federal government shifted to issuing monthly loans instead of direct budget payments. Despite court intervention, the funding impasse continues, with both sides accusing each other of failing to meet their fiscal responsibilities under the national budget law.
Shafaq News
a day ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraq-KRG salary row escalates: Baghdad cites revenue holdout
Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Iraq's federal finance ministry attributed its inability to fund May 2025 salaries in the Kurdistan Region to the Regional government's failure to transfer oil and non-oil revenues to the state treasury. In a statement, the ministry explained that funding had been allocated in accordance with the Kurdistan Region's quota under the federal budget law. However, the Regional government's decision to withhold its revenues caused expenditures to exceed the limits set by both the budget law and a ruling by the Federal Supreme Court. The ministry noted that this overextension obliges it to take legal steps, as required by the court's decision and the provisions of the current three-year federal budget. Despite the dispute, federal authorities reassured the public that they remain committed to timely wage disbursements. Salaries for May were fully covered for all eligible recipients, it confirmed, with funding secured independently of both oil and non-oil revenue borrowing. Jamal Kocher, a member of the parliamentary finance committee, questioned with Shafaq News the timing and suitability of the ministry's decision, warning that more than 1.2 million public employees in the Kurdistan Region would be directly affected. In response, the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Finance and Economy called on the federal government to continue disbursing salaries for civil servants, retirees, families of martyrs, Anfal victims, and social welfare recipients, on par with the rest of Iraq. The ministry also urged Baghdad to avoid introducing what it described as 'unconstitutional barriers to the salary funding process''. Notably, the salary dispute between Baghdad and the KRG has remained unresolved for years, re-emerging during each annual budget cycle. The federal government conditions the transfer of the Region's budget share on the handover of oil revenues—a process that stalled in 2023 after exports through Turkiye's Ceyhan port came to a halt. Since then, salary payments from Baghdad have been treated as advances rather than regular allocations. In February, the Federal Supreme Court issued a binding decision requiring the federal government to pay public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region directly, bypassing the KRG. The ruling came after repeated delays in disbursing wages to the Region's employees.
Shafaq News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
KRG: No forced returns for displaced Iraqis
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reiterated its opposition to the forced return of internally displaced persons, especially to former ISIS-controlled areas. Dindar Zebari, the KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, announced during the Conference on Missing Persons in the Middle East and North Africa that 'the people of Kurdistan have borne the brunt of atrocities—from the notorious Anfal campaign to the crimes committed by ISIS against Yazidis and other minorities,' reaffirming the KRG's deep commitment to uncovering the fate of the missing and ensuring accountability for crimes of enforced disappearance. Zebari recalled the disappearance of over 182,000 civilians during the Anfal operations, including 8,000 Barzani men, noting that the remains of victims have been recovered from 75 mass graves across Iraq, with 3,659 victims identified and returned to their families. The KRG has worked to rescue victims of ISIS. Out of 6,417 documented cases of Yazidi abductions, 3,587 individuals have been freed, while 2,830 remain missing. The official backed international recommendations on addressing enforced disappearances, including criminalization, investigative reforms, and better protections for vulnerable groups—measures already incorporated into the region's 2021–2025 Human Rights Action Plan focused on justice and survivor support. He also called on the international community to fulfill its humanitarian responsibilities and provide the technical, financial, and logistical support needed to accelerate investigations into enforced disappearances. Zebari highlighted cooperation with the United Nations Investigative Team (UNITAD), which led to the preservation and digitization of more than 408,000 pages of investigative files—documents he described as essential for future legal proceedings against ISIS perpetrators. He pointed to the KRG's rehabilitation and support initiatives, including the Psychological Treatment Institute in Duhok, a center documenting genocide-related sexual crimes, and a facility dedicated to assisting liberated women. 'These institutions have collectively provided psychological and legal support to over 1,278 survivors,' Zebari pointed out. He also showcased the KRG's use of advanced forensic tools, including DNA analysis, as a vital means of identifying remains and offering closure to victims' families.
Shafaq News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Demining teams clear explosives in Duhok
Shafaq News/ Duhok authorities have cleared several minefields and unexploded ordnance along the northern border, the Mine Affairs Directorate announced on Monday. Directorate spokesperson Rekar Bisevki told Shafaq News that teams removed a landmine from Korka village in Batifa and recovered additional shells in Spindari, al-Amediya district, adding that 'they also retrieved two 100mm artillery rounds, an 82mm mortar shell, another landmine, and other remnants near the Turkish border in the Kani Masi area.' All devices were relocated to secure sites for controlled detonation. Notably, Iraq is one of the world's most heavily mined countries due to prolonged conflict, including the Iran–Iraq war, the 2003 US invasion, and the fight against ISIS. Duhok, in particular, remains heavily contaminated from the Anfal campaign and 1980s military activity, with 779 hazardous zones identified. So far, only 376 have been cleared, leaving over 2.2 million square meters unsafe—just 4.44% of affected land, according to official data.
Rudaw Net
5 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
$73 million in development projects approved for Halabja province
Also in Kurdistan Kurdistan people's livelihood not a tool for political leverage: KDP leader Rwanga plants 20,000 olive saplings in Erbil President Barzani says Erbil wants stronger ties with Japan US senators meet with Iraqi, Kurdistan leaders A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's Council of Ministers on Sunday granted approval for nine major development projects in Halabja province, valued at approximately 96.65 billion Iraqi dinars ($73.3 million), including the construction of a free trade zone, multiple infrastructure upgrades, and a new provincial building. The decision followed a meeting between Halabja Governor Nuxsha Nasih and Omed Sabah, head of the Council of Ministers' Presidency Office. Commenting on the decision on her Facebook page, Nasih described the projects as 'necessary' to 'better serve citizens.' The projects include several road projects worth around 50.9 billion Iraqi dinars ($38.8 million), a combined road and sewerage project worth 14.4 billion Iraqi dinars ($10.9 million), and a memorial construction project budgeted at $16.3 million. An additional 10 billion dinars ($7.6 million) was allocated to support border departments, including bulldozers, loaders, trucks, excavators, road rollers, water tankers, shovels, bobcats, graders, and trailers. In April, Iraq's parliament officially recognized Halabja as the country's 19th province and the Kurdistan Region's fourth, passing a long-awaited bill during a session attended by 178 of the 329 lawmakers. The Iraqi Council of Ministers had initially approved Halabja's status change in December 2013, separating it from Sulaimani province, but political disputes delayed the formalization for over a decade. Halabja stands out as a potent symbol of Kurdish resilience. On March 16, 1988, near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, the forces of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein bombed Halabja with chemical weapons. The gruesome attack claimed the lives of at least 5,000 people - mostly women and children - and injured thousands more. Of note, the Halabja chemical attack was part of the Baath regime's broader Anfal campaign in which more than 182,000 Kurds were killed.
