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Iraq City of Kirkuk teetering on the brink of war

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By Fazel Hawramy

A few days ahead of the Kurdistan referendum on independence, an ethnic clash took place between a group of Kurds and Turkmens in Kirkuk on Sept. 19. Local police deployed in different parts of the city to prevent the development of the deadly clash.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) rules Kirkuk city through grassroots organizing committees in every neighborhood, including in Turkmen and Arab communities, the origins of which date back to the 1970s, when the PUK began fighting the Baathist regime of President Saddam Hussein. Out of Kirkuk governorate’s 13 seats in the national parliament in Baghdad, the PUK has six. Nothing can be done in Kirkuk without the approval of the Malband, the PUK office that oversees the work of the grassroots organizing committees.

The PUK is notoriously fractured, however, and this is reflected in the party’s position on the upcoming referendum. Sensing the potential for unrest and trying to address the concerns of Arab and Turkmen communities, Malband members voted Sept. 14 to exclude Kirkuk governorate residents from voting in the referendum.

“We decided to reject holding the referendum in Kirkuk … because the future of the city is in danger and we are not ready to gamble on the city.” Yasin Izzadin, a Malband deputy, was quoted as saying.

“When they decided to hold the referendum, why did they not come and consult with the political parties in Kirkuk?” asked Rawand Mala Mahmoud, another Malband deputy, on a local TV channel Sept. 18. He added, “No one asked us if having the referendum in Kirkuk will be a good idea. … What would you say to your people if the referendum is not approved?”

The pro-referendum camp tried to offset the influence of the organizing committees on Sept. 19, when Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani traveled to Kirkuk, accompanied by veteran peshmerga commander Kosrat Rasul, who is officially in charge of the PUK following Talabani’s illness. Rasul tried to end the bickering and ordered the members of the Malband to support the referendum. Most Malband members did not attend a pro-referendum rally afterward and did not initiate campaigning for the referendum, sources informed about the dispute told Al-Monitor. Most members continue to think holding the referendum in Kirkuk province is unwise.

US and North Korea on brink of war

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A US bomber flies over the Korean peninsula (Image: REUTERS)

As Trump flies supersonic B-1B bombers from threatened island of Guam,

Fresh tensions between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un have raised fears of a devastating nuclear war between the US and North Korea.

The US military this morning released pictures of supersonic B-1B bombers flying from Guam after North Korea threatened to strike an American airbase on the remote Pacific island.

Two US Air Force B-1B jets took part in 10-hour mission over the Korean peninsula just hours before Kim Jong-un revealed his plans.

On Monday, Trump warned any threat to America would be met with “fire and fury”.

US Secretary of State: Trump is using ‘language Kim Jong-un will understand’

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump is sending a strong message to North Korea “in a language Kim Jong-un would understand”.

He told reporters the North Korean leader does not understand diplomatic language.

Tillerson said while he doesn’t believe North Korea poses an imminent threat, Trump wanted to deliver message that would avoid any miscalculation in Pyongyang.

“Americans should sleep well at night,” he said.

Turkey: Brink of Civil War: Civilian Casualties Soar in Turkish Assault on Kurds

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1032352472The death toll among civilians has surged as Turkish security forces continue a large-scale operation against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey, shattering the last hopes to conclude a truce between the opposing sides

Government forces have killed over 150 civilians and at least 200 Kurdish insurgents within the last week, according to human rights groups and local officials, cited by the New York Times. Amid escalating fighting across southeastern Turkey, hundreds of thousands of residents have abandoned their homes for safer regions.

“What people here in the west [of Turkey] do not realize is that we are one step away from a civil war,” Engin Gur, a resident of the Turkish South East who moved to Istanbul, told the New York Times.

The frozen conflict between state authorities and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) reignited last July following the failure of a two-year ceasefire agreement.

Many experts observed that Turkish President Erdogan initially aimed to use the Kurdish conflict as a tool to strengthen the position of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), and consolidate the nation around its leader in the run up to parliamentary elections in November.

As soon as AKP won the elections by a large margin, the violence erupted.

Erdogan promised to eradicate the PKK, claiming that the group is the primary enemy of Turkey in spite of significant military achievements by the Kurds in Syria, including territorial gains that are aligned with the stated policies of Ankara.

“You will be annihilated in those houses, those buildings, those ditches which you have dug,” Erdogan pronounced, referring to trenches made by rebels in many southeastern cities. “Our security forces will continue this fight until it has been completely cleansed and a peaceful atmosphere established.”

At the same time Ankara officially claims it seeks a political settlement to the conflict. Once the military operation is finished, authorities state, talks with Kurds will be resumed.

It’s unknown who would take part in those negotiations on behalf of Kurds. Ankara has ruled out talking with the leader of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas following his calls for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast of the country.

According to the New York Times, the most probable candidate for the role of Kurdish diplomat is jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.

“They do not want to deal with the legitimate political actors, that is, the HDP or the PKK leadership directly,” Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said, commenting on the stance of Turkish officials in the Kurdish conflict.

Aydintasbas added that Ocalan will likely demand a “form of self-rule or autonomy” for the Kurdish population.

As a result of the recent conflict, many settlements in southeastern Turkey have no electricity and many citizens are trapped in their houses with no food, according to the New York Times. Scarce reports from those regions say that once densely populated areas now resemble war zones similar to those of Syria and Iraq.

“The tanks fire all day and we have nowhere left to hide,” Nurettin Kurtay, a resident of Turkey’s southeastern province of Sirnak told the New York Times by phone.