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Iraqi News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Halabja's new dawn: Governorate status brings hope and challenges to the historic city
Baghdad ( – After nearly four decades scarred by the horrific 1988 chemical attack and a subsequent 12-year political struggle, the Iraqi Kurdish city of Halabja has officially become Iraq's 19th governorate, and the fourth within the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. The Iraqi Parliament's decision in mid-April 2025 grants this city, synonymous with one of the modern era's most heinous crimes, a new administrative status. This is seen by many as long-overdue recognition and a potential catalyst for development, yet it also heralds fresh political and security complexities. The name Halabja is seared into global memory by the Ba'athist regime's chemical bombardment in March 1988, during the final months of the Iran-Iraq war, which killed an estimated 5,000 civilians, mostly women and children, and injured up to 10,000 more. The long-term effects on health and the environment have plagued the city for generations. The journey to governorate status began with a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decision in 2013, followed by a KRG parliamentary vote in 2015. However, federal recognition was repeatedly stalled by intricate political bargaining in Baghdad, often linking Halabja's case to demands for creating other new governorates in disputed or ethnically mixed areas like Tel Afar and Tuz Khurmatu. During these years of political limbo, Halabja suffered from economic decline, high unemployment, and significant out-migration as residents sought opportunities elsewhere. The new governorate status unlocks significant potential: dedicated annual budgets, thousands of new administrative and security positions, direct federal allocations for resources like medicine and fuel, and enhanced prospects for investment across various sectors including housing, industry, commerce, entertainment, and vital services. In a groundbreaking development, Ms. Nukhsha Saleh has been appointed as Halabja's governor, making her the first female governor in Iraq's modern history. However, these new entitlements are expected to intensify internal Kurdish political competition. Traditionally, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) holds sway in Erbil and Duhok, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) dominates Sulaymaniyah. Halabja, previously administered under Sulaymaniyah, now joins it as a PUK-influenced governorate, potentially recalibrating the power dynamics between the two main Kurdish parties. Furthermore, Halabja's strategic location bordering Iran, with key trade crossings like Shushmi-Tawila and Bashta, positions it as a potential new arena for regional influence—a common feature across Kurdistan, which navigates Turkish military presence and Iranian political interests. Developing its tourist areas will also require careful management to avoid political corruption. The elevation of Halabja to a governorate is undoubtedly a momentous occasion, offering a chance for healing, development, and empowerment. Yet, its future will be shaped by how these new opportunities are managed amidst existing political rivalries and complex security undercurrents. True progress will require genuine commitment from both federal and regional governments, robust local governance, and continued international support to ensure this city of martyrs not only remembers its painful past but builds a resilient and prosperous future, free from the shadows that have long loomed over it. The hope is that Halabja's new beginning truly places it on the map of recovered and thriving cities, rather than entangling it further in escalating power struggles.
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Iraq's oil minister has 'reservations' about energy agreements signed by Kurdish region
Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani speaks during a press conference at Iraq's Majnoon oil field near Basra, Iraq, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo BAGHDAD - Iraq's oil minister said that the federal government has reservations about energy agreements signed by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, after Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani oversaw the signing of two deals with U.S. companies worth a combined $110 billion over their lifetimes. "Agreements and contracts like this should be signed by the federal government," Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters on Wednesday. The agreements involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir gas fields in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya, and on Tuesday the federal oil ministry that Abdel-Ghani leads called the deals "null and void". The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement in response to that that the deals were based on contracts that had been signed "many years ago" and that had been upheld as legal by Iraqi courts. Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between the federal government and the Kurdistan regional government. A key dispute is over a pipeline running through Turkey that has been halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled that Turkey violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent. Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iraq's oil minister has 'reservations' about energy agreements signed by Kurdish region
By Muayad Kenany and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's oil minister said that the federal government has reservations about energy agreements signed by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, after Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani oversaw the signing of two deals with U.S. companies worth a combined $110 billion over their lifetimes. "Agreements and contracts like this should be signed by the federal government," Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters on Wednesday. The agreements involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir gas fields in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya, and on Tuesday the federal oil ministry that Abdel-Ghani leads called the deals "null and void". The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement in response to that that the deals were based on contracts that had been signed "many years ago" and that had been upheld as legal by Iraqi courts. Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between the federal government and the Kurdistan regional government. A key dispute is over a pipeline running through Turkey that has been halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled that Turkey violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent. Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.
Iraqi News
20-05-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Baghdad declares KRG's $110bn deals with American firms illegal
Baghdad ( – The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has firmly rejected two major oil and gas contracts recently announced by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), declaring them invalid under federal law. The disputed agreements involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir fields in Sulaymaniyah Governorate—projects that Baghdad insists cannot proceed without central government approval. According to the Ministry, the contracts violate rulings by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court, particularly in Case No. 59/Federal 2012 and its related Case No. 110/Federal 2019, which affirm that oil and gas agreements made independently by the KRG after these decisions are unconstitutional and therefore void. The deals, worth an estimated $110 billion over their lifetime, were unveiled by Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani during a visit to Washington, D.C. Barzani pledged personal oversight of the agreements, which include American company HKN Energy developing the Miran gas field—believed to hold around 8 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas—and a partnership with WesternZagros to exploit the Topkhana-Kurdamir blocks, containing approximately 5 trillion cubic feet of gas and 900 million barrels of oil. While the KRG promotes the deals as crucial to meeting Kurdistan's energy needs and boosting regional output, the Oil Ministry views them as a flagrant overreach. 'These contracts undermine national unity and the rule of law,' the Ministry stated, reiterating that Iraq's natural resources are a collective national asset, not to be managed unilaterally. The Ministry stressed that only the Federal Government holds the authority to authorize contracts related to the country's oil and gas wealth, and warned that bypassing this legal framework would not be tolerated. As such, Baghdad considers the agreements announced by the KRG to be null and illegal.
Iraqi News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
PKK claims two attacks in northern Iraq
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed on Thursday two attacks in northern Iraq that wounded five Iraqi Kurdish security personnel earlier this week. The attacks occurred on Monday and Tuesday, targeting peshmerga bases in Duhok province in the northern autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, which has seen repeated clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK. The regional authorities, who have close ties with Ankara, said on Tuesday that two separate drone attacks targeted its security forces, blaming them on a 'terrorist group'. The PKK said in a statement that it launched 'minor' attacks to avoid casualties in response to the Kurdistan security forces — the peshmerga — building a new post in the area. The post would close a road between two regions 'in an attempt to destroy and besiege our forces,' the PKK said. It is one of many posts that the peshmerga have started building in an area considered 'strategic' to the group, the PKK added. Kamran Othman of the US-based Community Peacemakers Teams, which monitors Turkish operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, told AFP Tuesday that the peshmerga were establishing a new post in a 'sensitive area' long marked by tensions between the PKK and Turkish forces. Blacklisted as a 'terrorist group' by Ankara, the European Union and the United States, the PKK has fought the Turkish state for most of the past four decades. The group maintains rear bases in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkish forces have also long operated bases. The drone attacks came weeks after the PKK announced a ceasefire with Turkey in response to their jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's historic call to the group to dissolve and disarm. Despite the ceasefire, skirmishes between the foes continue in several areas of northern Iraq. The regional authorities said the attacks aimed to 'obstruct the peace process and the stability of the region.' The PKK said in their statement that they 'don't want to enter a war with any side.'
