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Kurdish Parties Welcome Baghdad’s Decision to Redeploy Forces on Border with Türkiye, Iran

Al-Sudani presides over the meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security. (Iraqi News Agency)
Al-Sudani presides over the meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security. (Iraqi News Agency)
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Kurdish Parties Welcome Baghdad’s Decision to Redeploy Forces on Border with Türkiye, Iran

Al-Sudani presides over the meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security. (Iraqi News Agency)
Al-Sudani presides over the meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security. (Iraqi News Agency)

The decision of the federal government in Baghdad to redeploy Iraqi forces on the borders between Iraq, Iran and Türkiye was welcomed by Kurdish parties, in particular the Kurdistan Patriotic Union, which enjoys wide influence in the Sulaymaniyah province bordering Iran.

The federal decisions were taken during a meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security on Wednesday evening. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mohammad Shia Al-Sudani and attended by members of the Council and the Chief of Staff of the Kurdish Peshmerga Forces.

Participants discussed “the Turkish and Iranian attacks and violations on the Iraqi borders, and the bombing that targeted a number of areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and terrorized the people and damaged their property.”

According to a statement, the council took four decisions, including developing a plan to redeploy the Iraqi forces along the borders with Iran and Türkiye, securing logistical support requirements for the border forces command, enhancing human capabilities and providing them with equipment to enable them to accomplish their tasks, as well as employing the human resources available at the Ministry of Interior to strengthen border posts.

The meeting also emphasized the necessity of coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq and the Ministry of Peshmerga to implement the approved procedures, with the aim of unifying national efforts to protect the Iraqi borders.

Earlier this week, Iran and Türkiye launched a series of attacks inside Iraqi territory targeting the positions of Kurdish parties, killing and wounding at least 15 people.

This prompted the Kurdistan Region, the Federal Government, the United Nations, the United States and some Western countries to condemn the attacks and call on Ankara and Tehran to stop the hostilities that violate the sovereignty of Iraq.

The Kurdistan Patriotic Union Party welcomed the federal government’s decision to redeploy its forces to protect the borders. The leader of the party, Ghayath al-Sorji, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We welcome any step taken by the federal government to protect the borders and deter Turkish and Iranian aggression.”

He continued: “It is natural that the federal border forces take over the task in coordination with the Peshmerga. The move will be widely welcomed by most Kurdish parties. We adhere to the federal constitution, which entrusts the federal government with security and border protection.”

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Arab World

Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Torrential rains battered several parts of Sudan’s Khartoum state this week, flooding residential neighborhoods and streets, disrupting movement, and sweeping away war debris, including decomposed corpses believed to belong to paramilitary fighters.

The rainfall began as sanitation workers were carrying out maintenance on stormwater drains. But before completing their task, the downpour caught them off guard, forcing them to begin draining the water with basic tools already in use.

Local authorities said residents in the East Nile district reported seeing decomposed bodies swept into drainage canals. Officials suspect the corpses may be those of fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controlled swathes of the capital during its year-long war with the Sudanese army.

The RSF had held large parts of Khartoum since conflict erupted on April 15, 2023. But by March this year, the army claimed to have regained full control of the city. Since then, thousands of displaced families have returned home, according to state authorities, with more returning each day.

This year’s rainy season arrives amid the devastation of war, which has crippled already fragile infrastructure, particularly flood drainage systems. Even before the conflict, seasonal rains often caused widespread destruction in Khartoum, damaging homes and public facilities and resulting in casualties.

Despite extensive water pooling in open areas, Sudan’s Civil Defense Authority reported no fatalities or property losses. “Water was drained naturally, without any intervention from Civil Defense teams,” said Major General Qureshi, deputy director of emergency operations, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Qureshi added that his teams remain on high alert, as a precaution, although Nile water levels remain stable.

Residents attempted to clear water from their homes by removing weeds and waste blocking drainage channels.

“During the RSF's control of the city, we tried to dig small trenches to divert the rainwater toward the main drains,” said resident Mohamed Elias. “But the blocked drains caused water to stagnate for months, leading to insect infestations and disease.”

Although thousands have returned to Khartoum, the national government has not fully re-established itself in the capital, which it fled in favor of Port Sudan, a Red Sea city now serving as a temporary seat of power. Khartoum’s governor, Ahmed Othman, previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government’s return to the capital would be gradual.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said over one million displaced Sudanese have returned to their areas of origin across the country, including in Khartoum.