Abadi’s Clarifications Fail to Eliminate Kurd’s Worries

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter pauses during an operation to take the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar/Nov. 2015. AP
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter pauses during an operation to take the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar/Nov. 2015. AP
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Abadi’s Clarifications Fail to Eliminate Kurd’s Worries

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter pauses during an operation to take the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar/Nov. 2015. AP
A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter pauses during an operation to take the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar/Nov. 2015. AP

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed on Thursday that his government would not wage a war against the Kurds, but his comments failed to eliminate worries among the Kurdistan Region residents of a possible movement of the federal forces towards the disputed areas between Baghdad and Irbil.

Early on Thursday, the Peshmerga forces cut off with sand barriers the two main roads connecting Irbil and Dohuk with Mosul. However, these forces reopened the roads at a later time on the same day.

Media official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul Saeed Mamouzini told Asharq Al-Awsat that closing and reopening the two roads were due to the unusual moves conducted by the Popular Mobilization forces currently located in east Mosul, and at the division line with the Peshmerga forces.

Mamouzini said: “The Peshmerga had to cut off the roads for a couple of hours for security measures,” adding that armed members with foreign agendas were currently present among the Mobilization forces, who are trying to create problems and incite a strife.

The latest developments came after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) accused on Wednesday the Iraqi government forces for preparing a major military attack on Kurdish forces in the oil-rich region of Kirkuk and other parts of northern Iraq.

A source close to the Baghdad cabinet told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday the details of what happened on Wednesday following the claims.

He said contacts were launched between high-ranking officials from the government in Baghdad to decrease the level of tension.

“Kurdish parties called President Fouad Massoum to inform him about the menacing position,” the sources said, adding that the president then called the cabinet presidency, which issued a statement to denounce the accusations.

“The government calls on the Kurds to hand over tens of ISIS militants,” the source said.

“The Kurds do not mind, but they are waiting to investigate the fate of around 60 Peshmerga members kidnaped by the terrorist group and whose fates were still unclear,” the source added.

He said that the Kurds fear that the government’s requests to receive the ISIS militants are simply a pretext for an operation to control the oil fields of Kirkuk and other parts of Iraq.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.