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Shafaq News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
World offers condolences for Iraq's tragedy
Shafaq News – Baghdad Several countries and international organizations, including Turkiye, Russia, Iran, the United States, France, Lebanon, and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), extended condolences to Iraq following the deadly fire in Wasit. The blaze, which broke out inside a crowded hypermarket in the city of Kut, claimed the lives of more than 60 people, including women and children. Dozens more were injured, many trapped by the flames before rescue teams could intervene. Here are the official statements of condolence: – Turkiye's Foreign Ministry: Regarding the Fire in Iraq's Wasit Province — Turkish MFA (@MFATurkiye) July 17, 2025 – Russia's Embassy in Iraq: تعرب سفارة روسيا الاتحادية لدى جمهورية العراق بخالص التعازي وصادق المواساة إلى الشعب العراقي الصديق وخاصة لأهل واسط المحترم في فاجعة الكوت الأليمة اننا نتمنى الشفاء العاجل للمصابين ونشارك الم فقدان الأرواح الأبرياء والخسارة المأسوية الموجعة التي تعرضت لها عوائل الضحايا الكريمة — Russia in Iraq (@RusEmbassyIraq) July 17, 2025 – Iran's Foreign Ministry: The Islamic Republic of Iran offers its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the fire incident in neighboring #Iraq 's eastern city of Kut. We express our deepest sympathy and solidarity with the people and Government of our… — Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) July 17, 2025 – United States Embassy in Iraq: تتقدم بعثة الولايات المتحدة في العراق بأحر التعازي وأصدق مشاعر المواساة إلى أسر وأحباء الضحايا الذين فقدوا أرواحهم في الحريق المدمر الذي اندلع الليلة الماضية في مركز تجاري بوسط مدينة الكوت. نعرب عن عميق حزننا لفقدان الأرواح والإصابات، ونتمنى الشفاء العاجل للجرحى. — U.S. Embassy Baghdad (@USEmbBaghdad) July 17, 2025 – France: اتقدم بخالص التعازي لأسر وأقارب ضحايا الحريق الذي وقع صباح اليوم في الكوت مركز محافظة واسط. اتمنى الشفاء العاجل للمصابين. تعرب سفارة فرنسا عن تضامنها التام مع الشعب العراقي. July 17, 2025 — UNAMI (@UNIraq) July 17, 2025
Iraqi News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
UN Special Representative for Iraq visits Karbala
Baghdad ( – The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Mohamed Al-Hassan, visited the province of Karbala in central Iraq on Saturday and met with its governor, Nsayif Jassim Al-Khatabi. The governorate's growth and the possible role of the United Nations through its specialized agencies were among the topics of discussion at the meeting with the governor of Karbala, according to a statement released by UNAMI. Al-Hassan praised the governorate's accomplishments and their value on a national scale. Al-Hassan stated during a press conference that the UN is interested in promoting growth and service enhancement across Iraq, notably in the province of Karbala. The UN official underlined the need for ongoing collaboration between the UN and the Iraqi government. At the request of the Iraqi government, UNAMI was created in 2003 as a special political mission by UN Security Council Resolution 1500. The mission is tasked with coordinating the UN agencies' development and humanitarian initiatives in collaboration with civil society and government partners. Despite not providing humanitarian or development programs directly, UNAMI connects Iraqi partners with the technical expertise of the UN's network in Iraq and increases awareness of humanitarian and development challenges in the country. The mission in Iraq currently employs about 648 people, including 397 Iraqi staff members and 251 international staff members.
Rudaw Net
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
President Barzani worked for years to facilitate Ankara-PKK peace process: Spox
Also in Kurdistan Explosive-laden drone intercepted near Erbil airport Duhok forest catches fire Explosive-laden drone crashes in Sulaimani province President Barzani, UNAMI chief discuss regional developments A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has worked since 2022 to pave the way for the ongoing peace talks between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), using diplomatic relations with the international community, his spokesperson told Rudaw on Thursday. 'What we see now has been ongoing for years. I can say that since 2022 and 2023, the President of the Kurdistan Region has been directly in contact through all doors and paths possible to him, sometimes not only with the two main parties in the conflict but through his diplomatic relations with the world and the international community to help them facilitate and pave the way for ending armed conflict in the region,' Dilshad Shahab, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Presidency, said. The role of President Barzani and other Kurdish officials in the nascent peace process is clear, with meetings between the Region's top officials, Turkish authorities, and mediators serving as testimony to this. The PKK announced its dissolution and an end to its four-decade armed struggle in May, in response to a February call by its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to end the conflict - which has claimed around 40,000 lives - and pursue a political and democratic path. While Turkey has welcomed the PKK's move, it has emphasized the need for the decision to materialize on the ground. Meanwhile, the PKK expects democratic reforms from Ankara as part of the process. Rudaw was first to report on Monday that the first group of PKK fighters is set to disarm in the Kurdistan Region this month. The disarmament process is expected to begin in the Kurdistan Region in the coming days, as the first practical step in implementing the PKK's decision to lay down arms and end its armed struggle against Turkey. Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with the Kurdistan Region's top officials, including President Barzani, in Erbil on Tuesday to discuss the peace process, according to Turkish state media. Shahab said Kalin's meeting with President Barzani 'mainly focused on the role of the [Kurdistan] Region in the peace process.' They also discussed 'all possibilities for the future of this process and the role the Kurdistan Region will play.' He added, 'Steps are heading toward a very good direction. There is great hope that practical steps… will be taken by the PKK. The Turkish state has a plan or program for its parliament to begin practical work.' Shahab also said that the process, which Turkey calls 'terror-free Turkey' has 'created great hope and we look to the future of this process with hope. It's worth an important note and we should pause on it that this is ultimately an internal matter of Turkey, but it's worth pausing for us and it's pleasing that both sides, especially the Turkish state, when an internal problem of a country that has long roots and causes many victims and bloodshed and creates much loss of life and material damage and create.' Saadi Ahmed Pira, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's (PUK) politburo, told Rudaw on Thursday that any peace agreements between Ankara and PKK will end the bombardment of Kurdistan Region and politically help Kurdish politicians in Turkey. A short-lived peace process between Turkey and the PKK in 2013 granted Kurds some rights that were previously seen as taboo, such as elective Kurdish courses at schools. Kurds have been culturally, politically, and economically repressed in Turkey for decades. Shahab said President Barzani played a key role in talks that led to the process at the time. 'Before 2010, when in the heat of tensions and complexities, violence, war, and the use of weapons, even then Mr. Nechirvan Barzani was in his efforts with both sides, directly and indirectly with PKK leaders and directly without hesitation with the Turkish state presidency through all channels possible to him, to pave the way for peace and take steps to end all this destruction, heartbreak, human sacrifice, and devastation created by war, the damages that have befallen the region,' the spokesperson said. Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), last month expressed his appreciation for President Barzani's "contributions to the peace process" between Ankara and the PKK. "He emphasized the importance of the President's continued role and support, now and in the future, as he had done in earlier stages, to help ensure the success of the process,' according to a statement from Barzani's office. The DEM Party, which mediates the talks between Ankara and the PKK, has sent delegations to President Barzani to discuss the process with him. President Barzani has repeatedly endorsed his support for the initiative. Bakhtiyar Qadir contributed to this article.
Rudaw Net
03-07-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
KRG calls for resumption of oil exports, salary payments
Also in Kurdistan Explosive-laden drone intercepted near Erbil airport Duhok forest catches fire Explosive-laden drone crashes in Sulaimani province President Barzani, UNAMI chief discuss regional developments A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region's Council of Ministers met on Wednesday to reiterate Erbil's 'full readiness' to cooperate with Baghdad for resuming the long-stalled Kurdish oil exports and 'to cut all of Baghdad's excuses and pretexts' for not sending the Region's salaries. 'The Kurdistan Region has implemented and exceeded any commitment imposed upon it, showing all flexibility for resuming oil exports, therefore, we expect Baghdad to end its policy of not sending salaries,' the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement. Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, following a ruling by a Paris arbitration court that found Turkey had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to export oil without Baghdad's approval. In February, Iraq's parliament amended the federal budget law to include a $16-per-barrel fee to cover production and transportation costs for international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the Kurdistan Region. The amendment also requires Baghdad and Erbil to jointly appoint an international consultancy to audit and assess these costs. If no consensus is reached, the Iraqi cabinet will choose the firm. 'The Kurdistan Region and oil companies have shown full readiness to cooperate with the federal government for resuming oil exports, all in order to cut all of Baghdad's excuses and pretexts for withholding salaries to Kurdistan's employees,' the statement said. The Council of Ministers also stressed that Erbil is ready to resume oil exports through Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) 'and to return the Kurdistan Region's oil sales revenue to the federal finance ministry.' Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad intensified in late May when the federal finance ministry suspended all budget transfers to the KRG, including the salaries of more than 1.2 million public employees. The ministry cited the KRG's alleged overspending beyond its 12.67 percent share of the 2025 federal budget. Kurdish political parties have strongly condemned the suspension, describing it as unconstitutional and politically driven. 'Baghdad must end its policy of not sending salaries to the people of Kurdistan, as salaries are a normal, legal, and constitutional right of the Region's employees, and according to all laws and regulations, they should not be deprived of this right under any pretext,' the KRG stated. Washington is also pushing for the resumption of oil exports. On Tuesday, a State Department spokesperson told Rudaw that restarting the exports 'is critical,' adding, 'This is unacceptable. We have repeatedly urged all parties to resolve their issues and will not accept an indefinite delay.'
Rudaw Net
03-07-2025
- Business
- Rudaw Net
President Barzani, UNAMI chief discuss regional developments
Also in Kurdistan Explosive-laden drone intercepted near Erbil airport Duhok forest catches fire Explosive-laden drone crashes in Sulaimani province KRG calls for resumption of oil exports, salary payments A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday received Mohamed al-Hassan, head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), discussing the latest developments in the Middle East and Erbil-Baghdad ties. 'In the meeting, they discussed the political and general situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, as well as cooperation and coordination between UNAMI and relevant parties in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. They also exchanged views on the latest developments in the Middle East and their impact and effects,' said a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency. Barzani further thanked UNAMI for its support to Baghdad and Erbil over the years, reiterating the Kurdistan Region's readiness to support the mission until its completion. UNAMI was established in August 2003 at the request of Iraq under the Security Council Resolution 1500 to support Baghdad's developmental efforts. Its mandate was extended annually. While UNAMI does not directly implement developmental and humanitarian programs, it plays an advisory role in facilitating partnership and technical cooperation between the Iraqi government and the 20 UN agencies, funds, and programs operating in the country. Their mission for Iraq is set to conclude on December 31, 2025. During the meeting, both officials stressed that resolving issues between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is 'necessary,' with the presidency saying their resolution 'is in the interest of all of Iraq and serves to maintain peace, stability, and the country's development.' Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad intensified in late May when the federal finance ministry suspended all budget transfers to the KRG, including the salaries of more than 1.2 million public employees. The ministry cited the KRG's alleged overspending beyond its 12.67 percent share of the 2025 federal budget. Kurdish political parties have strongly condemned the suspension, describing it as unconstitutional and politically driven. Speaking at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Erbil in late October, UNAMI chief Mohamed al-Hassan remarked that the international mission is winding down in Iraq because the country no longer requires such a broad mandate and instead needs more targeted support from specialized agencies. UNAMI's responsibilities in Iraq have included fostering political dialogue among Iraqi factions and between Iraq and its neighbors. The mission has also supported electoral logistics, monitored human rights conditions, and coordinated humanitarian aid in conflict-affected areas. Given these roles, some critics have warned that ending the mission could reduce international oversight, particularly during elections.
