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Rudaw Net
an hour ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Kurdish leaders commemorate Barzan Anfal on 42nd anniversary
Also in Kurdistan Kurdistan Region sees five percent rise in greenery: Official Erbil authorities to plant 5,000 orange saplings KRG says will take responsibility for compensating oil companies President Barzani, UK military delegation discuss drone attacks on Kurdistan A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's top leaders on Thursday commemorated the 42nd anniversary of the previous Baathist regime's notorious Anfal campaign against the Barzanis that killed around 8,000 members of the tribe. 'The Anfal campaign against the Barzanis, perpetrated by the former Iraqi regime, was part of a broader series of atrocities aimed at subjugating the people of Kurdistan and erasing their existence. However, it ultimately failed due to the resilience and determination of the people of Kurdistan, leaving a grim stain on the conscience of the perpetrators,' President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement. On July 31, 1983, an estimated 8,000 members of the Barzani tribe were rounded up, abducted from their homes in the Zagros Mountains, and taken to the deserts of southern Iraq, where they were killed on the orders of the Baathist regime. President Barzani further reiterated calls on the Iraqi government to compensate the victims' families and extended his condolences to their families. 'It is imperative that the Iraqi government take all necessary steps to deliver justice and provide compensation to the victims' families,' he said. That call was echoed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who also urged Baghdad to compensate the victims of the genocide. 'The patriotic people of Kurdistan will never forget these crimes, and generation after generation must know that the people of Kurdistan, with all its components, have made great sacrifices to preserve their national identity and legitimate rights,' he said. The people of Kurdistan will never forget these atrocities. We must remember, Kurdistan has paid the ultimate sacrifice for its rights and its freedom, and we will never give up. I salute the martyrs of the Barzani Genocide and all the martyrs of Kurdistan. — Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) July 31, 2025 Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani also commemorated the tragedy, lamenting that some parties and people in Iraq have not learned from the mistakes of the past. 'The mentality behind this crime and others was one of chauvinism and denial, which has been a source of tragedy and backwardness for all of Iraq,' he said. 'Unfortunately, there are still some people who have not learned from history and continue to pursue politics with this same mentality.' 'All parties must understand that as long as this mentality remains, Iraq will never find peace,' the KDP leader stressed. The atrocity was an act of collective punishment of the Barzanis, whose leaders were active in Kurdish revolts against the Iraqi regime. Men and boys were the primary targets, but women, children, and the elderly were all victims. It was part of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's broader Anfal campaign against the Kurds. More than 182,000 people were killed and over 4,500 villages were destroyed in eight phases of the Anfal campaign in the 1980s that culminated with the chemical weapon attack on Halabja. Iraq's Federal Supreme Court has recognized the Anfal campaign as constituting genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, but little has been done to compensate the survivors of the victims' families. The campaign has also yet to be recognized as genocide by the majority of the international community.
Shafaq News
08-07-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iraqi MP: Cabinet to discuss Kurdish pay crisis
Shafaq News – Baghdad The Iraqi Council of Ministers will address the salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region during its regular session on July 8, a lawmaker revealed on Tuesday. Sabah Sobhi, the MP from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), told Shafaq News that the salary and oil disputes in the Region are on track to be resolved soon following a series of meetings between Baghdad and Erbil. He pointed out that the crisis has persisted since the amendment of Article 12 in the Federal Budget Law, adding, 'We hope the federal government will resolve the issue through legal and constitutional channels outlined in Articles 11 and 12.' On Monday, a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) arrived in Baghdad—the second visit in two weeks—as part of ongoing efforts to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government, delivering the Region's formal response to the latest federal proposals.
Rudaw Net
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Kurdistan parliament to enter summer recess despite political stalemate
Also in Kurdistan Erbil emergency water project enters testing phase Blaze scorches hundreds of dunams in Sulaimani province Explosive drone crashes in Duhok camp housing Yazidis President Barzani, former Iraqi deputy PM discuss Baghdad-Erbil ties, regional developments A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's parliament began its summer recess on Monday without holding regular sessions. The ongoing political deadlock has delayed the formation of a new government. 'Parliament's summer recess begins today, July 1, and will continue for two months,' Rupak Ahmad, a member of the legal committee during the previous parliamentary term, told Rudaw on Tuesday. 'Under normal circumstances, parliamentary sessions should resume on September 1 [and continue] until January 31 of the new year, and then they will go into winter recess again for two months,' she added. Kurdistan Region's long-delayed parliamentary election was held in October but the political parties have yet to reach a final agreement to form a new cabinet. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said that the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have agreed on a cabinet agenda, adding that the door remains open for other parties to join. Amid the stalemate, lawmakers have convened only once in December without electing a speaker or deputies. The session ended without significant decisions and was adjourned indefinitely. In May, Omar Gulpi, a lawmaker-elect from the opposition Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal) - who is yet to take the oath of office - filed a lawsuit with Iraq's Federal Supreme Court challenging the legitimacy of the Kurdish parliament. He argued that the legislature's failure to meet regularly invalidates the October election results and called for new elections and the return of benefits granted to lawmakers. In April, the PAY Foundation for Education and Development, a Kurdistan-based NGO that monitors legislative performance, criticized Kurdish lawmakers for collecting salaries despite the parliament not sitting. Soran Hussein contributed to this report.
Shafaq News
25-06-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
PM Barzani pushes for majority government as salary crisis deepens
Shafaq News/ Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said Wednesday that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are working together to form a new majority government, as tensions rise over an intensifying salary crisis that has left public sector workers unpaid for more than six weeks. Speaking at a press conference in Erbil, Barzani said both ruling parties had reached a common understanding on the framework for the next cabinet. 'We have made serious efforts to form a majority-based government and remain in continuous dialogue,' he stated. 'There is no constitutional vacuum, and our doors are open to all political forces willing to participate.' Barzani also addressed the worsening salary dispute with Baghdad, saying a breakthrough may be near following direct conversations with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Supreme Judicial Council head Faiq Zaidan. 'For two months, Kurdistan Region salaries have not been paid per the law. This is unconstitutional,' he said. 'We reject the politicization of salaries and any attempt to use them as leverage.' He revealed that a federal delegation is expected in Erbil within days to begin negotiations. 'We are optimistic,' he said. 'But if a solution isn't reached, we will fall back on internal revenues and spending cuts to protect the financial rights of our people.' As of Wednesday, civil servants and pensioners in the Kurdistan Region had entered their 42nd day without receiving May 2025 salaries. The last federal transfer—covering April wages—was made on May 13 and distributed by the KRG within four days. Since then, no additional payments have been issued, despite mounting pressure during Eid al-Adha and rising living costs. Official sources told Shafaq News that Wednesday's weekly cabinet meeting would focus almost entirely on the salary crisis, amid growing public unrest and labor strikes. The standoff deepened after a May 28 letter from Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami notified the KRG that Baghdad could no longer continue salary payments, citing a breach of the Region's 12.67% budget allocation. The letter claimed that although the Kurdistan Region had generated approximately 19.9T IQD(about $15 billion) in oil and non-oil revenues between 2023 and April 2025, it had only transferred 598.5B IQD (around $457 million) to the federal treasury. Amid the financial strain, an internal KRG finance directive dated June 23 ordered a suspension of all government expenditures for two months beginning June 24, citing 'severe financial conditions.' Efforts to resolve the issue through Iraq's Federal Supreme Court collapsed earlier this month when nine judges — including six principal members — resigned on June 16 over internal disputes. Shafaq News has learned that the resignations effectively halted a pending legal order that might have forced Baghdad to resume salary payments. The case had been filed by Kurdistan Region employees seeking emergency intervention from the court. The political deadlock has fueled public frustration across the Region. On Tuesday, staff at Halabja General Hospital staged a walkout to protest unpaid wages. In al-Sulaymaniyah, teachers planned demonstrations, though local security authorities urged postponement due to ongoing regional instability. Political analyst Hawri Karzan called on the KRG to form a unified delegation representing all major parties and head to Baghdad for direct talks. 'The lack of a cohesive position is allowing Baghdad to delay action,' he warned.
Observer
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Observer
Land of warriors... where ‘honour' is sullied, respect is lost
How can an ethnic group, rich in culture and tradition, and numbering more than 30 million people, not have a home to call their own? The Kurdish people are a proud people, gentle, yet, in protecting their 'honour,' become utterly mindless, brutal. The Kurdish, says proud young Kurd Danyil Kamil, are people of the mountainous, stateless region, that spans four nations Iran, Iraq, Türkiye , and Syria, once known as Mesopotamia. Culturally strong, and mostly Sunni Muslim. Ironically, following WWI, the Western allies having conquered the Ottoman Empire, made provision for a Kurdish state, even giving it the name of Kurdistan, in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres. However, the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne, in 1923, which established the post-war boundaries of modern-day Turkey, saw the Kurdish homeland fractured and according to Kamil, 'out of sight, out of mind.' Autonomous governance of the Iraqi sector has been touted since 1946, when Mustafa Barzani created the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which 15 years later, frustrated with their political progress launched an armed offensive against the government. In March1988, Saddam Hussein cruelly unleashed a chemical attack against Halabja, on the Iranian border, killing 5,000 Kurds. Iran's Ten million Kurdish Muslims, who have long sought formal allegiances with their fellow Levantine mountain-dwellers. However, successive Iranian governments have proven reluctant to cede a strong social presence, in country, and suppression of Kurdish autonomy and activism is widespread. Turkish Kurds too have suffered as successive Turkish governments have rejected autonomy since the 1920s, with Kurdish identity made unlawful. In 1978, Abdullah Ocalan inspired a bid for Kurdish independence, only to be arrested and gaoled in 1999. He is still imprisoned, alone, in Imrali Prison. It is conservatively estimated that more than 36,000 people have perished in the Turkish/Kurdish 'troubles. Syria only has a modest Kurdish population, denied citizenship, homes, land, and businesses, they were victims of widespread genocide until in 2012, Bashir Al Assad was forced to protect urban Syria from other rebel forces. Even today, Syria's fractured leadership refuses to negotiate Kurdish autonomy. This then, is the adversity that is Kurdistan, and hardly of its own making. But that's no excuse... Maybe the earlier generations would settle for peace and quiet, but as in every society, there is youth, and with youth comes restlessness, and a desire to be seen and heard, maybe ill-disciplined and free-spirited, but undeserving of the pathos surrounding one lost soul. Fairooz Azad was a Kurdish teenager, living in Erbil, population 879,000, and Kurdistan's largest city. She was pretty, vibrant, and bold, who successfully blended her beauty, fashion, personality and opinions, influencing thousands of Kurdish followers on social media. Her posts offered a very different perspective to the normally mundane existence where the only local excitement was their football team. A pretty girl, Azad would 'dress to impress,' frequently blogging and posting on TikTok and Snapchat, becoming prominent across the region's social media. Not everyone though, was impressed, and in November 2023, two rival influencers, feigning interest in her success, instead brutally assaulted and violated the 18-year-old and threw her from the balcony of Erbil's Eskan Towers. Miraculously, she survived with a broken leg, pelvic and spinal injuries. Incredibly, a tribal mediation saw her assailants given only a brief term of imprisonment, and they were released from jail before Azad was discharged from hospital. Then, in April 2024, believing Azad was now 'impure,' her father, uncle, cousin, a brother, and others, entered her bedroom and shot her dead while she was sleeping. To think young Fairooz Azad is now little more than a statistic, one of an average thirty women who perish each year in this region alone, in the name of 'honour?' This is not honour! For any culture, any tradition, no matter how disappointed, frustrated, or bitter with their lot, to seek solace in ritual gendercide, is completely wrong! Nyala Ali Khan, author, lecturer, and a global advocate for women's rights, in an interview on 'Counterpunch,' in 2016, that the 'discourse of honour killings,' speaks only to the 'incorrigible bestiality,' of the practice. How can a culture, a civilisation, a way of life, that regards honour so wretchedly, seek freedom, respect and independence so robustly?
