US Welcomes Constructive Talks Between Baghdad, Erbil

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Reuters
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Reuters
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US Welcomes Constructive Talks Between Baghdad, Erbil

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Reuters
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Reuters

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani that the US welcomes signs of development in talks between Erbil and Baghdad.

He said that the US pays attention to its relations with the Kurdistan Region, according to Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) website.

Tillerson expressed happiness over what he called constructive meetings between the Erbil and Baghdad delegations in attempts to resolve their outstanding issues, reported Rudaw in a statement following Tillerson’s phone call with Barzani on Monday.

He described the Iraqi constitution as a means for resolving the issues and expressed his readiness to support dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad.

He also stressed continued coordination between the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad, and the United States to confront any threat in the post-ISIS phase and possible re-emergence of violence.

In his phone call with Barzani, Tillerson reiterated US support behind democratic processes and elections in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and hoped for the KRG to overcome its crippling economic crisis.

For his part, Barzani thanked Tillerson for supporting the KRG and cautioned that there are still threatening elements that again could unleash violence.

He deemed it important for the three sides — the US, Iraq and the KRG — to work together on a current and future joint mechanism.

Barzani emphasized that the KRG was always ready for talks and dialogue with Baghdad, describing the recent Erbil-Baghdad talks as positive and stressing the importance of the role of each side in the developments in Erbil-Baghdad relations.

“Erbil counts Washington as its ally for passing the current phase, and it needs the support of its friends,” Barzani said.

He added that the political processes and elections in Kurdistan are being undertaken seriously.

Recent meetings between Baghdad and Erbil also headed the meeting, which was held Tuesday between Iraqi President Fouad Masum and his three deputies Nuri al-Maliki, Osama Najafi and Iyad Allawi.

A presidential statement said that “the agenda included the discussion of a number of important files related to the upcoming elections, the budget law and talks between the federal government and the KRG.”

The meeting praised the response to the presidential initiative, continuous talks between the ministries in the federal government and the KRG on the stalled technical aspects and understandings required to resolve all the problems.

It stressed the need to activate and intensify efforts to reach practical solutions to various aspects of the crisis in accordance with the constitutional contexts.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.