Tensions Rise between Kurds, PMF in Baghdad

A member of the Iraqi security forces intervenes as demonstrators, supporters of the PMF, burn down the Kurdish Democratic Party's headquarters in the capital Baghdad on October 17, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
A member of the Iraqi security forces intervenes as demonstrators, supporters of the PMF, burn down the Kurdish Democratic Party's headquarters in the capital Baghdad on October 17, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
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Tensions Rise between Kurds, PMF in Baghdad

A member of the Iraqi security forces intervenes as demonstrators, supporters of the PMF, burn down the Kurdish Democratic Party's headquarters in the capital Baghdad on October 17, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
A member of the Iraqi security forces intervenes as demonstrators, supporters of the PMF, burn down the Kurdish Democratic Party's headquarters in the capital Baghdad on October 17, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Officials at the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) headed by Masoud Barzani accused Iran-aligned groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) of storming and torching their party offices in central Baghdad on Saturday.

Hundreds of Iraqi police officers and riot control units present in the area were unable to prevent the assault against the KDP headquarters.

The attack follows a host of raging threats PMF-linked perpetrators had launched against senior KDP official and prominent Iraqi politician Hoshyar Zebari, who had previously made harsh anti-PMF remarks.

He said that Baghdad must “clean the green zone” from “outlaw forces” within the PMF, members of which routinely target with rockets US facilities and interests in Iraq.

KDP sources, however, pointed out that the incident was sparked by PMF anger against a deal recently signed between Baghdad and Erbil to manage the disputed area of Sinjar.

“The arson is related to the recent Sinjar Agreement and not to statements made by Zebari,” sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“It is clear that the agreement dealt a painful blow to the PMF presence in Sinjar, because it explicitly stipulated their withdrawal from the region and ordered their replacement with regular federal forces,” they added.

The Iran-tied PMF has been severely attacking the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region since the signing of the agreement last week.

“They do not want to lose their strategic location there (Sinjar), which grants them and Iran access to a transit route for supplies to and from Iraq and Syria,” sources explained.

KDP sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the assault against KDP offices was staged by Iran-tied factions in the PMF.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani called on Baghdad to launch an investigation into the attack, calling it “a threat against peaceful coexistence.”



UN Official Says Israel Strikes Lebanon-Syria Border Crossing

 People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Official Says Israel Strikes Lebanon-Syria Border Crossing

 People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)
People carry their belongings while crossing from Lebanon into Syria, as they walk past a crater caused in the aftermath of an Israeli strike that occurred early on Friday morning, at Jousieh crossing between Syria and Lebanon, Syria October 28, 2024. (Reuters)

UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said an Israeli air strike hit "humanitarian structures" Saturday at a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria that was previously hit last month.

The crossing, known as Jousieh on the Syrian side, became a key escape route for those fleeing the Israel-Hezbollah war after the main border crossing between the two countries was hit.

But it was put out of service late last month when an Israeli strike created a large crater that blocked vehicle traffic.

"A new Israeli air strike hit the border post of Jousieh, where many Lebanese and Syrians cross from Lebanon to Syria," Grandi said on social media platform X.

"Humanitarian structures were also struck," he said, adding that "even fleeing and taking care of those who flee are becoming difficult and dangerous as the war continues to spread."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said two Israeli strikes hit the Jousieh crossing on Saturday.

The raid came after the main crossing between Beirut and Damascus, known as Masnaa on the Lebanese side, was forced to close by an Israel strike on October 4.

There are six official crossings between Lebanon and Syria, although there are many unofficial routes across the porous border.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of transporting weapons to Lebanon from Syria through the crossings.