PMF Mobilizes towards Kurdish Garmian Oilfields

PMF forces are seen in Iraq. (Telegram file)
PMF forces are seen in Iraq. (Telegram file)
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PMF Mobilizes towards Kurdish Garmian Oilfields

PMF forces are seen in Iraq. (Telegram file)
PMF forces are seen in Iraq. (Telegram file)

Conflicting reports emerged on Sunday over the movement of an Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) unit towards the disputed Garmian region.

The region, which boasts three oilfields, is located between the Diyala, Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah provinces that are disputed between Arab and Kurds in Iraq.

Even though Garmian lies out of the administrative control of the Sulaymaniyah and Iraqi Kurdistan Region, it is effectively under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The PMF had never advanced on Garmian before, said Kurdish sources.

The incursion may be tied to the rivalry between various Kurdish parties, notably the two main forces the PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Leading PUK officials condemned the incursion and called on Baghdad to intervene.

PUK sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the PMF withdrew from the area following party contacts with the ruling Coordination Framework in Baghdad.

Other sources said the incursion may have been related to vague security arrangements between the PUK and PMF after the position of Kirkuk governor had been assumed by a PUK loyalist.

Other Kurdish sources offered a different account. They told Asharq Al-Awsat that the PMF unit was accompanying an oil company that was keen on investing in an oilfield in the area.

Commenting on the incursion, the PMF explained that it launched a “surprise security operation” to crack down on terrorist cells in the region.

It did not disclose whether the unit had retreated from the area.

A senior official in the Peshmerga said that after the Kurdish force contacted Baghdad, the PMF will withdraw from the area because it carried out its incursion without prior coordination with the authorities in the area.

A Kurdish journalistic source told Asharq Al-Awsat that reports have said the PMF had withdrawn from the area, while others claimed that some of its members are still there.



UK FM Calls Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospital 'Deplorable'

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
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UK FM Calls Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospital 'Deplorable'

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo

British foreign minister David Lammy condemned Israel's attacks on medical facilities in Gaza on Sunday after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside a Gaza hospital.

"Israel's attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza," Lammy said in a short post on social media, Reuters reported.

"Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began. These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will achieve a lasting peace."