Latest news with #Rudaw
Rudaw Net
5 hours ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
UK smuggling sanctions target 10 individuals from Iraq, Kurdistan
Also in Iraq Iraq eyeing 'sustainable' diversification away from oil: PM advisor Diyala council seeks to block Qaratapa district upgrade Iraq's ruling coalition condemns drone attacks on Kurdistan Region Iraqi parliament fails to discuss drone attacks on Kurdistan Region A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Ten Iraqi nationals, including individuals from the Kurdistan Region, were sanctioned under a new United Kingdom sanctions regime targeting smuggling networks, the British consulate in Erbil said on Wednesday. The UK announced on Tuesday the launch of what it described as the world's first sanctions regime specifically aimed at smuggling gangs and their facilitators. 'The first designations under the regime, announced today, include 10 Iraqi nationals who have been exploiting and endangering vulnerable people, including from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and threatening the security of the UK and the KRI [Kurdistan Region of Iraq],' the UK consulate general in Erbil said in a statement seen by Rudaw. 'These sanctions are part of a wider effort, in coordination with international partners, including the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government], to stop this cruel trade and promote regional and international stability,' it added. The new Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons (GIM) sanctions target individuals and organizations involved in smuggling and trafficking worldwide, including those who fund or enable such activities. Measures include travel bans, asset freezes, and restrictions on access to the UK's financial system. With these sanctions, the UK government does not have to rely on criminal or counter-terrorism laws. They require less evidence and do not involve the apprehension of the suspect. Criminal law also takes effect after a crime has been committed, while sanctions serve as a proactive tool to disrupt criminal activity and publicize the individuals involved. 'For too long, criminal gangs have been lining their corrupt pockets and preying on the hopes of vulnerable people with impunity as they drive irregular migration to the UK. We will not accept this status quo,' UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement on Tuesday. 'That's why the UK has created the world's first sanctions regime targeted at gangs involved in people smuggling and driving irregular migration, as well as their enablers,' he added. The BBC reported the announcement following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in southeast England's Essex county. The protest was triggered by the arrest of an asylum seeker for alleged sexual assault. It also reported that around two dozen names of the first batch of targeted individuals will be announced. Per the UK consulate general's statement, it is clear that ten of the individuals are Iraqi nationals, including from the Kurdistan Region. AFP released the identities of some of them, including several with Kurdish names. 'The first targets will cover a range of wrongdoing, from the supply of small boats being used on cross-Channel journeys, to the trade in fake passports, as well as middlemen facilitating payments through Hawala networks, to the gang leaders themselves,' the British government's statement said. Hawala networks are an informal and trust-based system for transferring money across borders without physical transfer of money. Separately, the UK has signed a 'one in, one out' agreement with France, allowing the return of illegal migrants arriving from France in exchange for accepting a set number of legal asylum seekers from France subject to security checks, according to the BBC. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also recently reached agreements with France and Germany aimed at curbing the arrival of small boats. Thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take on perilous routes towards Europe on a yearly basis in hopes of escaping unemployment, political instability, and corruption. The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has previously worked with the KRG against organized crime. 'We maintain a positive relationship with law enforcement partners in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and work with them against a range of shared threats, including organised immigration crime," a spokesperson for the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) press office told Rudaw in November 2024. Kurdish criminal groups control the increasingly lucrative cross-Channel migration routes, according to the NCA, which said in its 2023 assessment that the groups are mainly based in northern Europe. Also in November last year, a French court sentenced 18 people, mostly Kurds from the Kurdistan Region, to prison terms of up to 15 years for operating a smuggling network that transported people across the English Channel. In May 2024, Kurdish police in Sulaimani arrested a Kurdish man accused of heading an organized crime group that smuggled people into the UK. The regime was previously outlined by foreign minister David Lammy in January.
Rudaw Net
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Brawl breaks out between pro-Damascus, Kurdish rallies in Germany's Dusseldorf
Also in World Rubio tells Sudani important to pay KRG salaries 'consistently' US encourages Iraq to end tensions with Kurdistan Region US orders return of Baghdad embassy, Erbil consulate staff US says attacks on Kurdistan Region 'unacceptable' A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Five police officers were injured Sunday in a brawl between pro-Syrian and pro-Kurdish demonstrators outside the central station in Germany's western city of Dusseldorf, according to local police. 'A brawl involving several hundred participants triggered a large-scale police operation yesterday afternoon. Former participants of two different assemblies (pro-Syrian and pro-Kurdish) had clashed on the forecourt of the main train station,' Dusseldorf police said in a statement on Monday. During efforts to contain the violence, bottles and stones were thrown at officers, leaving five lightly injured. Police said they made several arrests and filed around 20 criminal charges for offenses including breach of the peace, dangerous bodily harm, and property damage. Participants from both demonstrations had crossed paths at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz in the city center Sunday afternoon. After an exchange of insults, violence broke out, the statement added. Police are aware of at least one injured civilian. According to the regional daily Rheinische Post, roughly 500 people had joined the pro-Kurdish demonstration, while about 200 took part in the pro-Syrian interim government rally. The Kurdish march was attacked by at least 50 people. The motive behind the attack remains unclear, and police told the newspaper it is not yet confirmed whether the attackers were directly linked to the earlier Syrian demonstration, though 'a connection is possible.' According to Rudaw's reporter on the ground, the Kurdish rally was organized by Kurds from northeast Syria (Rojava) and southeast Turkey, though most participants were from Rojava. The demonstrators expressed solidarity with Syria's minorities, including Alawites, Christians, and the Druze, and called for an end to hate speech targeting Kurds in Syria and the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the de facto army in Rojava. Investigations are ongoing. The new authorities in Syria - who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December - have come under repeated criticism by minorities for neglecting their rights and steering the country towards Islamic rule. Recent sectarian clashes in the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province have left over 1,000 dead and displaced over 128,000. The fighting started last Sunday between Druze militants and the Sunni Muslim fighters. Damascus has been accused of siding with the Sunni tribes. Three ceasefires between the Druze community and the new government in Damascus have collapsed, and although the latest one - brokered by Washington - appears to be holding, it remains fragile.
Rudaw Net
8 hours ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
US says attacks on Kurdistan Region ‘unacceptable'
Also in World Rubio tells Sudani important to pay KRG salaries 'consistently' Brawl breaks out between pro-Damascus, Kurdish rallies in Germany's Dusseldorf US encourages Iraq to end tensions with Kurdistan Region US orders return of Baghdad embassy, Erbil consulate staff WASHINGTON DC - The United States warned on Wednesday that attacks on Kurdistan Region are 'unacceptable' amid increasing drone assaults on the Region's oil fields, including those operated by American companies. 'These kinds of attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are unacceptable. We've expressed our dismay and our problem with them,' US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce told Rudaw during a press briefing. Several oil fields in the Kurdistan Region have been struck with explosive-laden drones in the last three days. At least four drone attacks were reported in Duhok province on Wednesday. Kurdistan Region's natural resources ministry said the recent attacks on Kurdistan Region's oil sector has caused a "significant material loss." It condemned the attacks and reiterated its call on the federal government to take action to stop these attacks. Aziz Ahmad, Deputy Chief of Staff to Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, said on X late Wednesday that the Region has lost nearly 200,000 barrels of oil production 'after a spate of drone attacks by criminal militias on the Iraqi government payroll.' He added that five oil fields, including two operated by US companies, have been struck so far. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) 'welcomed U.S. investment and companies. Now, those same investors are being pushed out in a calculated campaign to economically strangle us,' Ahmad noted, blaming Washington for denying the KRG the necessary tools to defend its energy and civilian infrastructure. 'We need them now to help us defend ourselves — we know exactly who's behind these attacks and where they're coming from.' Drone strikes in the Kurdistan Region have increased since the outbreak of a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran that began on June 13 and ended with a US-brokered ceasefire. While no group has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, the Region's interior ministry in early July accused the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of involvement - a charge dismissed by Baghdad as 'unacceptable.' Erbil-Baghdad financial dispute The Iraqi government has not paid the KRG's share from the federal budget since May due to financial disputes between both governments. Despite ongoing talks between both sides, they have yet to reach a final agreement. The KRG's Council of Ministers on Wednesday convened and announced that it has reached a new "understanding" with Baghdad aimed at resolving the ongoing budget dispute that has left more than 1.2 million public employees in the Kurdistan Region without salaries for over two months. 'We have been vocal regarding actions that have happened with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, we've made it clear that we expect Iraq to withdraw certain dynamics that they apply to the Kurds when it comes to issues of salaries and oil distribution, etcetera,' Bruce told Rudaw during the Wednesday press briefing.
Rudaw Net
a day ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Baghdad to resume payment of KRG salaries Tuesday: Deputy PM
Also in ECONOMY Iraq approves deal to resolve financial, oil disputes with KRG Baghdad pledges non-interference in oil firms as KRG export resumption nears: Sources Iraq gold surges, inflation dips as deficit grows: Central Bank Fate of trade on Iraqi ports as Iran-Israel war escalates A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government is expected to disburse May salaries for the Kurdistan Region's civil servants on Tuesday, the federal deputy prime minister told Rudaw. This development comes amid ongoing tensions between Erbil and Baghdad, despite a recent financial agreement. 'There is an understanding and today the [KRG] salaries will be dispersed," said Fuad Hussein, who is also Iraq's foreign minister. Ikhlas al-Dulaimi, deputy head of the finance committee in the federal parliament, told Rudaw that 'today there will be good news regarding the salaries of Kurdistan Region's civil servants.' Public employees in the Kurdistan Region have gone nearly three months without pay, while their federal counterparts have received their salaries on time. Kurdish officials have accused Baghdad of politicizing the issue, whereas Iraqi authorities claim the KRG has failed to meet its financial obligations as outlined in the constitution. Following meetings with federal officials and commanders from the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Baghdad on Monday, the Kurdish Peshmerga minister warned that the Peshmerga forces are facing a dire financial situation. 'The salary recipients of the Kurdistan Region, especially the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces, are in a difficult financial situation, but with high Kurdistani will and determination, they steadfastly continue to protect the peace and security of the Kurdistan Region and the area,' Shoresh Ismail was cited as saying by in a ministry statement. On Thursday, the KRG and the federal government finalized an agreement aimed at resolving their disputes over finances and Kurdish oil exports. However, officials from both sides continue to accuse each other of creating obstacles to its implementation. 'We hope that the understanding between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central government will be implemented as soon as possible and that the salaries of employees and Peshmerga will be sent quickly,' Ismail added. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday accused Baghdad of adding a last-minute condition to the agreement they had already signed. 'After we agreed to the agreement and negotiated on the proposals… they added another point,' Barzani said during a speech in Erbil. He added that Baghdad now requires the Region to deliver 230,000 barrels of oil per day before releasing salary payments. Barzani's remarks came just days after Iraq's Council of Ministers approved the new deal with the KRG to resume salary payments and restart Kurdish oil exports. Under the agreement, the KRG must export its entire oil output through Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), keeping 50,000 barrels daily for local use. In return, Baghdad is expected to make budget transfers and provide refined fuel if needed. The KRG is also obligated to hand over 120 billion Iraqi dinars (nearly $92 million) in non-oil revenues monthly for May. 'Until the 230,000 barrels are received, salaries will not be paid,' Barzani said, criticizing the move as unfair given repeated drone attacks that have disrupted oil production. 'On the other hand, those terrorists come and blow up our fields and don't allow oil production, so how can this work?' Since the deal was announced, drone attacks on the Kurdistan Region appear to have ceased. Nearly 20 drone attacks were recorded in July, most targeting oil fields operated by international companies.
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iran's surprise release of water into Kurdistan Region shocks locals
Also in Kurdistan KRG opens child protection center in Halabja province: Official Kurdistan Region rolls out projects to fight chronic water shortages Sulaimani villagers suffer from severe water shortage Kurdish ruling parties to meet soon for government formation talks A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A sudden, unexplained release of water from Iran's western Sardasht Dam has flooded the Little Zab River in the Kurdistan Region, local officials said Sunday, pushing water levels beyond those seen in spring. The unexpected flow has brought relief to farmers but raised questions about Tehran's motives. 'Without any prior warning or notification to us, Iran has released water from the Little Zab River source,' Sparda Mohammed, director of water resources in Raparin told Rudaw. According to Mohammed, there is no agreement or coordination with Iran on managing water flow. 'We still don't know how and why Iran has been releasing this water for several days, which seems to be in their interest, as the level of release is increasing day by day.' The Little Zab originates in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran (Rojhelat), flowing southwest through Iran before crossing into the Kurdistan Region. It then winds through northern Iraq before joining the Tigris River near the disputed province of Kirkuk. In April, Mohammed warned the water levels in the river had dropped sharply compared to other years. 'Last year, the flow rate of the Little Zab River was 130 cubic meters per second at one point, but is now less than 36 cubic meters per second,' she said at the time, blaming low rainfall, Iran's construction of Sardasht Dam and diversion of the river's water. The Sardasht Dam, an embankment dam located about 13 kilometers southeast of Sardasht city in Iran's West Azerbaijan province, has significantly affected downstream flow in recent years. Mohammed said the current release has 'completely revived' the river. This comes at a time when some areas in eastern Kurdistan Region's Sulaimani province are facing a water shortage. Besides supporting agriculture and fish ponds, the Little Zab is the main water source for about 100,000 residents of Qaladze district in northern Sulaimani province. Iran has repeatedly restricted the river's flow in the past. Water scarcity remains a severe problem in drought-hit Iraq, which the United Nations ranks as the fifth-most vulnerable country in the world to climate change impacts like water and food insecurity. The crisis is worsened by upstream Turkish and Iranian dams on rivers flowing into Iraq, leaving the country increasingly dry; about 70 percent of its water originates outside its borders.
