Iraq’s ex-Kirkuk governor flees to US with millions of petrodollars: Report

November 29, 2017 By administrator

Najmiddin Karim, former governor of Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk

The former governor of Iraq’s northern oil-rich province of Kirkuk and a staunch supporter of the Kurdish independence referendum has reportedly fled to the United States with millions of petrodollars.

Ali al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Units – commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, said on Tuesday that Najmiddin Karim was receiving 10 million dollars from the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Massoud Barzani, over petroleum smuggling, Arabic-language Babil24 news website reported.

He added that there is substantial evidence that Karim has left Iraq through Erbil, which is the capital city of Kurdistan region and located approximately 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Baghdad.

Husseini noted that all Kurdish leader well knew about Karim’s misconduct, and the fact that he was being paid by Barzani over oil smuggling from Kirkuk, but kept mum.

The Hashd al-Sha’abi spokesman added that Kurdish officials must file a lawsuit against the former Kirkuk governor and Barzani so that they would stand trial for stolen funds.

On September 14, the Iraqi parliament voted to dismiss Karim after the provincial council voted to take part in the Kurdish independence referendum irrespective of the central government’s strong opposition to the secession bid.

Earlier in the day, the office of Iraqi parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri announced in a statement that it had received a request from the office of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanding a voting session to discharge 68-year-old Karim.

Abadi ordered the hoisting of Iraqi national flag in the country’s oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk as well as other areas under the control of the KRG on October 16.

The development came shortly after a convoy of Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces took control of the governorate building in the central part of Kirkuk, located 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of capital Baghdad, facing no resistance from Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the city.

According to the city’s residents, before hoisting the national flag, Iraqi forces removed the Kurdish flag from the governorate building.

Security sources and residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government forces arrived at the site, and took position in the vicinity alongside the local city police.

The referendum on secession of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region was held on September 25 despite strong opposition from the central government in Baghdad, the international community, and Iraq’s neighboring countries, especially Turkey and Iran.

Following the vote, Baghdad imposed a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region and called for a halt to its independent crude oil sales.

On October 12, an Iraqi government spokesman said Baghdad had set a series of conditions that the KRG needed to meet before any talks on the resolution of the referendum crisis could start.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has called on KRG authorities to abide by a top court ruling that declared the recent secession referendum in northern Iraq unconstitutional.

The UN mission also demanded that Baghdad and Erbil engage in negotiations without delay within the framework of the constitution and discuss issues ranging from the control of borders and the reopening of airports to the federal budget, the payment of salaries and the management of oil exports.

On November 20, Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court, which is responsible for settling disputes between the central government in Baghdad and the country’s regions, announced it had made a “decision to consider the Kurdish region’s referendum unconstitutional and this ruling is final.”

It also decided to annul “all the consequences and results” of the plebiscite which was held on September 25 in defiance of strong objection from both Baghdad and Iraq’s neighbors, particularly Iran and Turkey.

Source: http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2017/11/28/543816/Iraqs-exKirkuk-governor-flees-to-US-with-millions-of-petrodollars-Report

Baghdad takes last Kirkuk sector, Russian Rosneft backs Irbil

October 20, 2017 By administrator

Kirkuk’s last Kurdish sector has fallen to forces of Iraq’s government as Baghdad seeks to reassert authority. To the north, inside core Kurdistan, a Russian firm has taken control of a key oil export pipeline.

Iraq’s military said its forces on Friday retook Altun Kupri, the last sector of Kirkuk, an Iraqi oil hub, which Kurdish peshmerga fighters seized in 2014 to prevent its capture in an Islamic State (IS) sweep.

Iraqi and Kurdish media said peshmerga forces briefly exchanged gunfire with advancing Iraqi forces on Friday before quitting, completing an otherwise largely unopposed drive that saw Kirkuk city captured last Monday.

Altun Kupri lies 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Irbil and outside semi-autonomous Kurdistan whose recent independence vote infuriated Baghdad.

A spokesman for Iraqi forces said they included US-trained commando units, Iranian-backed Shiite Popular Mobilization units and Iraqi federal police.

For Kurds, the loss of Kirkuk has prompted widespread recriminations over regional president Massud Barzani and militia rivalries.

Kurdish pipeline share goes to Rosneft

In what appeared to be Russian backing for Kurds in Irbil, Reuters said Russia’s biggest oil concern, Rosneft, had agreed to take a majority stake in Kurdistan’s main pipeline which funnels oil exports to Turkey’s port of Ceyhan.

The contract was signed in Verona, Italy, late Thursday by Kurdish resources minister Ashti Hawrami and Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The calculation here is that the presence of Rosneft and the Kremlin will boost the sense of security,” said one industry source close to Irbil.

Oil deal angers Baghdad

Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi reacted angrily to the deal, saying Baghdad alone was entitled to develop oil and gas strategy and “sign agreements with foreign countries and companies.”

Sechin replied that Iraq and Kurdistan needed to solve their disputes.

“I am not a politician; my job is to produce oil,” Sechin told Russian news agencies.

Rosneft said it would own 60 percent of the pipeline, with its current operator, the KAR Group, retaining 40 percent, in a “promising” oil extraction region.

The Russian investment in the project was expected to total $1.8 billion (1.5 billion euros). Rosneft had also agreed to invest a further $400 million in exploration for crude oil in five blocks.

Kurdish oil exports disrupted

Baghdad’s capture of Kirkuk, Iraq’s second oil hub, disrupted Kurdish exports, which are currently running at only a third of capacity.

Reuters said that had left Kurdistan with debts owed to Rosneft and other oil traders as well as Turkey to be paid for via future oil sales.

Baghdad, meanwhile, had asked major oil concern BP to return to Kirkuk to help revive production to deprive Irbil of revenues.

ipj/ng (AFP, dpa, AP, Reuters)

Report: Iraqi forces have captured oil fields and a military base held by Kurdish forces Kirkuk

October 16, 2017 By administrator

Iraqi forces have captured oil fields and a military base held by Kurdish forces near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The US, which backs both sides, urged their allies to deescalate the explosive situation.

raqi security forces and allied Shiite militia clashed with Kurdish peshmerga forces Monday around Kirkuk, an oil-rich area at the heart of disputes between the two sides.

Tensions between the two sides have escalated since the the Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted last month for an independent state in a non-binding referendum, which controversially included disputed territories such as Kirkuk.

Iraqi government and Iran-backed Shiite militia, known as Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), advanced to take control of oil fields, the airport and the strategically-important K1 military base in and around Kirkuk city, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said.

Iraqi state TV reported that Iraqi forces had taken control of “vast areas” outside of Kirkuk city.

Kurdish peshmerga forces reportedly retreated back from positions outside the city, but were setting up defenses in the city as thousands of civilians fled in cars north to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered security forces “to impose security in Kirkuk in cooperation with the population of the city and the peshmerga.” He said that instructions were given for forces to stay out of the city.

The Kurdistan Region Security Council claimed peshmerga had destroyed several US-supplied Humvees belonging to the PMU.

Hemin Hawrami, an adviser to Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, quoted the peshmerga command as saying Abadi’s government would “pay a heavy price” for the assult on Kirkuk.

The US Defense Department, which has supplied and trained both the peshmerga and Iraqi army, urged its two allies in the war against the “Islamic State” (IS) “to avoid additional escalatory actions.” It added that it opposed destabilising actions that distract from the battle against IS militants.

The Iraqi troops and the Kurdish peshmerga fighters have been engaged in a standoff since Saturday, when they took positions on opposite banks of a river on the southern outskirts of the city of Kirkuk.

The Kurdish forces were given a deadline of 2 a.m. local time Sunday (2300 UTC Saturday) to surrender their positions and return to their pre-June 2014 positions.

Alert: Iraqi Forces Begin Assault Near Kurdish-Held City of Kirkuk

October 15, 2017 By administrator

Iraqi PM KIRKUK, Iraq — Iraqi state television reported early Monday that Iraqi forces had begun an assault on the Kurdish-held city Kirkuk and its oil fields, despite weeks of urgent efforts by the United States to keep tensions between its allies from boiling over into another war in the Middle East.

In a brief statement released to the state-run network, Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, ordered troops to impose security in the area “in cooperation with the people of Kirkuk and the pesh merga,” or Kurdish fighters.

State-run TV said the initial assault by Iraqi troops, counterterrorism forces and federal police did not encounter resistance as they sought to reclaim areas seized by Kurdish forces in 2014. But there were unconfirmed reports of clashes with the pesh merga, who maintain defensive lines around Kirkuk and the oil fields.

Military sources also reported exchanges of artillery fire, but those reports could not be confirmed.

The Iraqi military operation would be the first use of military force by the government in Baghdad in response to an independence vote last month by the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Breaking News: Iraqi army begins advance on Kurdish-held Kirkuk – state TV

October 15, 2017 By administrator

Forces start moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields and an air base amid rising tensions after Kurds vote for independence.

Iraqi forces were reported to be advancing on Kirkuk after the prime minister of Iraq, Haidar al-Abadi, ordered his army to “impose security” on the oil-rich Kurdish city.

Kurdish and Iraqi officials reported that forces began moving at midnight on Sunday towards oil fields and an important air base held by Kurdish forces near the city.

The governor of Kirkuk, Najmaldin Karim, urged the public to come out onto the streets and voiced his confidence that Peshmerga forces would be able to protect the city. “We saw some of the young people who expressed their readiness to help their Peshmerga brothers to defend the land,” he told Rudaw, a Kurdish media network.

There were unconfirmed reports from Peshmerga commanders of clashes south of Kirkuk, around Taza Khurmatu, Rudaw reported, with both sides exchanging fire involving heavy weaponry. One Kurdish official claimed to have twice pushed back Iraqi forces.

Kurdish president Masoud Barzani, has ordered his forces not to initiate a conflict but to respond if attacked, Hemin Hawrami, a senior assistant to the president, was quoted as saying.

Al-Iraqiya TV said Iraqi military, anti-terrorist units and federal police had taken control of some areas around the city, advancing without firing a shot. The objective was to take control of the K1 airbase, west of Kirkuk, Lieutenant Colonel Salah el-Kinani of the Iraqi army’s 9th armoured division said.

A photographer with Agence France-Presse reported seeing columns of Iraqi troops heading north from the town of Taza Khurmatu, which lies south of Kirkuk.

Tensions in the area began rising several weeks ago, when the country’s Kurds voted for independence from Baghdad. The referendum was bitterly opposed by Iran, Baghdad and Turkey and has since led to a blockade of the region by all three powers.

On Friday, Kurdish and Iraqi government rushed troops and armour to the city. Peshmerga forces massed about 20 miles from Kirkuk’s southern limits after units loyal to the central government took positions on the city’s approaches, prompting fears of fresh violence in one of the most bitterly contested corners of Iraq.

At the time, the likelihood of an imminent battle for the ethnically diverse city had dissipated, with political leaders on both sides trying to calm nerves. Al-Abadi, who is commander-in-chief of the country’s military, insisted he had no plans to launch an attack.

Following Sunday’s reported advance, the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) security council said: “Iraqi forces and Popular Mobilisation are now advancing from Taza, south of Kirkuk, in a major operation; their intention is to enter the city and take over K1 base and oil fields.”

A commander of the local Kurdish police force said Kurds remained in control of Kirkuk province’s oil wells.

Neither side reported any armed confrontation one hour after the initial report of the Iraqi advance.

Kurdish Peshmerga ‘given deadline’ in Kirkuk

October 14, 2017 By administrator

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters say Iraq’s central government has ordered them to surrender key military positions in the disputed city of Kirkuk within hours.

They were given a deadline of 02:00 on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday) to quit military facilities and oil fields.

Brief clashes also erupted between Kurdish forces and Shia militia backing the Iraqi government.

Tensions have been on the rise since Kurds held a referendum on independence last month, which Iraq called illegal.

The oil-rich province of Kirkuk is claimed by both the Kurds and Baghdad, though the two sides were recently united in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of much of the province in 2014, when IS militants swept across northern Iraq and the army collapsed.

The Iraqi parliament asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send troops to Kirkuk and other disputed areas after the official referendum results – which overwhelmingly backed independence – were proclaimed.

The referendum was held in three autonomous provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan, but also in nearby Kurdish-held areas including Kirkuk.

The province, which bears the same name as the city, is thought to have a Kurdish majority, but Kirkuk has large Arab and Turkmen populations.

On Saturday, there was a brief outbreak of fighting near Kirkuk, with each side blaming the other, reports the BBC’s Orla Guerin in Iraq.

Turkey’s Terrorist group called Grey Wolves share armed photo to threaten Kurds regarding Kirkuk

October 1, 2017 By administrator

Deniz Güzelay, İstanbul Vice-Chairman of Grey Wolves, officially known as Ülkü Ocakları, and his two friends shared their photographs with automatic guns in social media to threaten Kurds over disputed Kirkuk region in Iraq. Güzelay has written under the photo that “5.000 idealist (known as Ülkücü) are ready to go to Kirkuk.”

According to a report by Hürriyet daily, İstanbul Grey Wolves Provincial Vice Chairman Güzelay and Kağıthane Grey Wolves Chairman Engin Kayacık took photographs with automatic weapons in front of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) flag. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli is known as the ruling AKP chairman and Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main ally in its repressive policies against Kurds and the Gülen movement.

Güzelay is also seen quoted MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli under a photograph he shared in his Instagram account. He has written that “Everyone should know and plan according to that we take the risk of every suffering, every difficulty and every trouble for the survival of the Turkishness, assurance of continuation and scatter of the nightmares over the Turkmen regions” and “5000 idealist ready to go to Kirkuk.”

Following the massive reactions in social media and after he was exposed in the media, Güzelay removed his post with a photograph showing automatic guns in his and his friends’ hands.

Kirkuk is a issue between Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen in the region. The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday has asked Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to send troops to the Kurdish-held region of Kirkuk and take control of its oilfields, as the prime minister demanded that Kurdish administration “cancel” the outcome of the independence referendum. Kirkuk, claimed by the Kurds, is also home to Turkmen and Arab communities. The KRG included it in the independence referendum held on last Monday.

“The government has to bring back the oilfields of Kirkuk under the control of the oil ministry,” said the resolution voted by parliament in Baghdad. It called on Abadi to “issue orders for the security forces to deploy in the disputed areas, including Kirkuk.” In a speech to parliament, Abadi renewed his ultimatum to Masoud Barzani’s KRG to hand over control of international airports by Sept. 29 or face a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region.

Source: https://stockholmcf.org/turkeys-grey-wolves-share-armed-photo-to-threaten-kurds-regarding-kirkuk/

Iraq City of Kirkuk teetering on the brink of war

September 25, 2017 By administrator

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.

Curfew imposed in Iraq’s Kirkuk after clashes between Kurds and Turkmen over Kurdistan vote

September 19, 2017 By administrator

A Kurdish man walks in the street in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on September 18, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi police have imposed a curfew in the northern city of Kirkuk, which witnessed skirmishes between Kurds and Turkmen days before a controversial Kurdish referendum on independence from the mainland.

The Iraqi Kurds plan to hold the plebiscite on September 25 in three provinces that make up their region, as well as in disputed areas that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad, including the oil-rich Kirkuk Province.

Baghdad has slammed the upcoming vote as unconstitutional, calling on the Kurdish leadership to drop the plan.

On Monday, Iraq’s top court temporarily suspended the Kurdish independence referendum, saying it “issued a national order to suspend the referendum procedures … until the resolution of the cases regarding the constitutionality of said decision.” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also formally asked the Kurdish officials to halt the process.

Later in the day, gunmen opened fire on one of the Kirkuk offices of the Iraqi Turkmen Front political movement, which is opposed to the Kurdish vote.

Mohammed Samaan Kanaan, in charge of the Front’s offices, told The Associated Press that guards returned fire, killing one and wounding two of the assailants.

Hours later, a police patrol attacked another office of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, but there were no casualties, he added.

Afterwards, Kirkuk was placed under a nighttime curfew, with provincial police chief, Brigadier General Khattab Omar saying that an investigation committee was probing the incident.

He blamed Monday’s clashes on “reckless enthusiastic youths” and said that arrests have been made.

Locals said Iraqi police had deployed overnight in Kirkuk to prevent any outbreak of ethnic violence ahead the Kurdish vote.

Last week, Iraqi Kurdish lawmakers approved holding the secession vote in the face of fierce opposition from the central government in Baghdad.

The United Nations and the US as well as regional powers like Iran and Turkey have also expressed concerns about the planned referendum by the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), arguing that it could create further instability in the already volatile region.

The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Massoud Barzani, said once again late Monday that he would proceed with the referendum despite warnings at home and abroad.