Iraq's Sinjar Deal Threatens Iranian Regional Ambitions

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo
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Iraq's Sinjar Deal Threatens Iranian Regional Ambitions

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Friday met with a senior Kurdish delegation headed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Interior Minister, Reber Ahmed, and reached a historic deal over the governance and security of the disputed district of Sinjar in Nineveh province.

Erbil and Baghdad had been in conflict over the district’s standing.

The deal, which collides with the Iranian plans to establish a Shiite crescent in the region, was signed with international presence and was welcomed by Washington.

Sinjar Mayor Mahma Khalil, in a statement, said the deal stipulates the removal of all armed factions, including those tied to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The deal is predicted to end the authority of intruding groups and paves the way for the reconstruction of the city and the full return of its people in coordination with the KRG.

Member of the Nineveh Provincial Council Dawood Chiekh Jundi, in a phone call interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, warned of the negative fallout of the agreement if it fails to assimilate all parties with forces on the ground.

All forces must participate in the administration-forming process and the selection of officials, Jundi said.

Salman Dawoud, an Iraqi journalist focused on affairs of minorities, confirmed that the deal will be rejected by the Iran-aligned PMF, which currently controls the land.

The PMF will refuse complying with the agreement because it directly threatens Tehran’s regional agenda and ambitions, Dawoud explained.

Writer and political analyst Saman Noah believes that “it is not conceivable that the PMF will relinquish gains it achieved in the region.”

PMF presence in Sinjar secures a land corridor linking between Iran and Syria, a route belonging to what is known as the Shiite crescent.

The Crescent is the notionally crescent-shaped region of the Middle East where the majority population is Shiite or where there is a strong Shiite minority.

In recent years the term has come to identify areas under Iranian influence or control, as Iran has sought to unite all Shiite Muslims under one banner.

Areas included in the Shiite Crescent are Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Yemen, and western Afghanistan.



Türkiye Ousts 3 Elected Pro-Kurdish Mayors from Office and Replaces Them with State Officials

People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Ousts 3 Elected Pro-Kurdish Mayors from Office and Replaces Them with State Officials

People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
People walk in downtown Diyarbakir, southeastern Türkiye, November 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Türkiye on Monday removed three elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office over terrorism-related charges and replaced them with state-appointed officials, the Interior Ministry said.

The move, which comes days after the arrest and ouster from office of a mayor from the country's main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish armed group, is seen as a hardening of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government’s policies toward the opposition.

It also raises questions about the prospects of a tentative new peace effort to end a 40-year conflict between the group and the state that has led to tens of thousands of deaths.

The mayors of the mainly Kurdish-populated provincial capitals of Mardin and Batman, as well as the district mayor for Halfeti, in Sanliurfa province, were ousted from office over their past convictions or ongoing trials and investigations for links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

The mayors are members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, which is the third-largest party represented in Parliament. They were elected to office in local elections in March.

Last month, the leader of the far-right nationalist party that’s allied with Erdogan had raised the possibility that the PKK's imprisoned leader could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization. His comments had sparked discussion and speculation about a potential peace effort.

Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Türkiye’s main opposition party, CHP, branded the mayors' removal from office as a “a coup” and accused Erdogan of seizing “municipalities” he could not win in the elections.

Politicians and members of Türkiye’s pro-Kurdish movement have frequently been targeted over alleged links to the PKK, which is considered a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union.

Legislators have been stripped of their parliamentary seats and mayors removed from office. Several lawmakers as well as thousands of party members have been jailed on terror-related charges since 2016.

“We will not step back from our struggle for democracy, peace and freedom,” Ahmet Turk, the ousted mayor of Mardin, wrote on the social platform X. “We will not allow the usurpation of the people’s will.”