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Erbil Court Sentences Six to Death for Killing Colonel in Anti-terrorism Service

A photo circulated in October by media outlets in Erbil of the bombed car of colonel Hawkar Jaff
A photo circulated in October by media outlets in Erbil of the bombed car of colonel Hawkar Jaff
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Erbil Court Sentences Six to Death for Killing Colonel in Anti-terrorism Service

A photo circulated in October by media outlets in Erbil of the bombed car of colonel Hawkar Jaff
A photo circulated in October by media outlets in Erbil of the bombed car of colonel Hawkar Jaff

An Erbil court in Iraq on Sunday sentenced six people to death involved in the killing of Hawkar Jaff, a colonel in the counter-terrorism service.

A source told Asharq Al-Awsat that, “those sentenced include anti-terrorism chief in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Wahab Halabji and the head of the PUK’s intelligence unit, Karzan Muhammad, in addition to four others.”

The source said the court decision could escalate the already existing tensions between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which controls Erbil and Duhok, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which controls Al-Suleimaniyeh.

Meanwhile, Kurdish news outlets quoted Mohammed Jaff as confirming that an Erbil court had sentenced six of the perpetrators of his brother’s assassination to death.

He added that the court has yet to decide on the fate of other perpetrators involved in his brother’s assassination next June 8.

In October, Jaff was killed and four others, two women and two children, were injured when an explosive device attached to the bottom of his car detonated facing his house in the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

The operation was conducted a few days after Jaff defected from the PUK amid internal division that led to the expulsion of Lahur el-Sheikh from the party’s presidency.

After Jaff’s assassination, several officials in Erbil said the PUK-supervised Counter Terrorism Group (CTG) was behind the attack.

Separately, the Kurdish security organization, Asayish, defended on Sunday its decision to arrest a French journalist and his female assistant on June 2, 2023, in the Sulaymaniyah governorate of Iraq.

The Asayish statement came in response to the strongly-worded condemnation issued Saturday by the French Consulate General in Erbil.

Asayish said that on June 2, its forces had warned the French journalist, Benoit Drevet, and his female translator, not to visit the Galala area, which is not safe, and had asked them to leave.

It added that the journalist and the translator insisted on staying. “The Asayish forces treated them with respect and asked them to leave the area where drones were flying,” the statement said.

“The Asayish forces treated the journalist with respect. He was transferred to the city of Sulaymaniyah, and the French consulate was informed of his safety,” it added.

In return, the French Consulate General in Erbil has issued a strong condemnation following the detention of the French journalist and his female assistant in Sulaymaniyah.

The consulate's statement expressed deep concern over the “repeated assaults on press freedom and journalists' rights within the Kurdistan Region.”

It also expressed gratitude to the authorities involved in handling the case.

In January, the Metro Center for Journalists' Rights and Advocacy in Kurdistan said in a press conference that 2,160 violations were committed against journalists from 2011 to 2020.

 

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Arab World

Israeli Raid in the West Bank Leaves 1 Palestinian Dead and 4 Wounded

Israeli soldiers take positions during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Israeli soldiers take positions during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
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Israeli Raid in the West Bank Leaves 1 Palestinian Dead and 4 Wounded

Israeli soldiers take positions during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Israeli soldiers take positions during clashes with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

One Palestinian man was killed and four others seriously wounded during an Israeli military raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said the man’s wife was in labor at a local hospital when she was informed of his death.

The Red Crescent said five people were hit by gunfire during an Israeli military operation. Nayef Firas Ziad Samaro, 26, was killed, according to the Health Ministry, and his body was brought to the hospital where his wife was giving birth. Additionally, a 12-year-old was shot in the shoulder, according to the Red Crescent, The AP news reported.

The raid took place as schools were letting out for the day, in an area crowded with civilians, witnesses said.

Israel's military in a statement said it responded to a confrontation in the Nablus area in which several “terrorists” threw rocks toward soldiers. Soldiers fired and “several hits were identified.”

Palestinians, rights groups and international observers are warning about the worsening violence, where young Palestinian men are being killed with increasing regularity amid a broader climate of arson, vandalism and the displacement of farming communities near Jewish settlements and outposts in the West Bank.

At least 42 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the year, according to the United Nations humanitarian office. Armed settlers were responsible for at least 11 of those fatalities.

Arab World

Yemen’s Workers Face Harsh Unemployment and Unrelenting Hardship

A person (L) buys snacks from a mobile cart in Sanaa, Yemen, 27 April 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A person (L) buys snacks from a mobile cart in Sanaa, Yemen, 27 April 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Yemen’s Workers Face Harsh Unemployment and Unrelenting Hardship

A person (L) buys snacks from a mobile cart in Sanaa, Yemen, 27 April 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A person (L) buys snacks from a mobile cart in Sanaa, Yemen, 27 April 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

As the world marks International Workers’ Day on May 1 each year, workers in Yemen have, for years following the Houthi coup and ensuing war, faced a starkly different reality marked by daily hardship and a struggle for survival amid economic and humanitarian conditions among the worst globally.

Workers in Sanaa and other cities told Asharq Al-Awsat that the day is no longer an occasion to celebrate professional achievements or press for improved rights. Instead, it has become a moment to reflect on the scale of the challenges they face, from widespread unemployment to declining wages and the absence of social protection.

Some said their conditions, and those of their families, have continued to deteriorate for a twelfth consecutive year, as they struggle daily to secure basic needs amid rising prices, scarce job opportunities, and a lack of even minimal services. They noted that wages in remaining sectors such as construction, transport, and other freelance work no longer match the effort required or the cost of basic living.

As workers called on relevant authorities and international organizations to intervene to ease their suffering, sources within the labor union federation under Houthi control in Sanaa said the occasion comes this year as more than one million Yemeni public sector employees, supporting hundreds of thousands of families, continue to endure harsh conditions, alongside 8 million daily wage workers now living below the poverty line as a result of the coup and ongoing conflict.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthi group continues to deepen the suffering of millions of daily wage workers in areas under its control through policies of systematic corruption targeting what remains of the economic sector.

Struggle for Survival

“Mahmoud,” a construction worker in Sanaa, said: “We do not celebrate Workers’ Day like people in other countries. We live it as just another day of struggling to earn a living.” Mahmoud, a father of three, works long hours for meager pay that does not cover even his children’s basic needs. “We go out every day looking for work and may return with nothing. Life has become very harsh,” he said.

“Essam N.,” a pseudonym for a taxi driver, described his situation: “Fuel prices keep rising while our income is declining. I work long hours and still cannot cover expenses. Sometimes I think about leaving the job, but there is no alternative.”

He said he has worked in the profession for more than 10 years but has never experienced conditions as severe as those today.

Abdullah, 39, a street vendor in the Bab al-Yemen area of Sanaa, said: “We used to sell and earn reasonably well years ago, but now people can barely buy anything. Everyone is suffering, not just us.”

These accounts reflect a grim reality facing thousands of workers in Yemen, where daily hardship intersects with a lack of prospects amid a deepening crisis that has exhausted all, alongside ongoing calls to improve workers’ conditions and guarantee their basic rights.

Deep Crisis

Economic specialists say the crisis facing workers in Yemen is no longer a temporary reflection of war, but has become a deep structural crisis. They say the continued decline in economic activity, weak investment, and the division of financial institutions are all factors exacerbating unemployment and limiting the market’s ability to recover.

According to data from ESCWA, Yemen is classified among low-income countries with a fragile economy, directly affecting job creation and widening poverty.

Economists say the continuation of the war and the decline in economic activity have worsened workers’ suffering, with many projects halted, job opportunities shrinking, and unemployment rising, particularly among youth. They warn that the persistence of this situation could expand poverty and deepen reliance on the informal economy.

In parallel, unofficial estimates indicate unemployment rates have risen to unprecedented levels, especially among young people, with thousands finding themselves outside the labor market without real opportunities. With many productive and service sectors halted due to years of conflict, employment opportunities have sharply contracted, pushing many toward temporary or unstable work.

The World Bank said in its reports on Yemen that about one in six working-age individuals is unemployed. The outlook is bleaker for youth unemployment, which the International Labour Organization estimates exceeds 25 percent across the Arab region, and is expected to be higher in Yemen given the ongoing conflict and the contraction in economic activity.

Arab World

Israel Attacks Southern Lebanon after New Evacuation Warning

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on May 3, 2026. I(Photo by AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on May 3, 2026. I(Photo by AFP)
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Israel Attacks Southern Lebanon after New Evacuation Warning

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on May 3, 2026. I(Photo by AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjayoun shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, on May 3, 2026. I(Photo by AFP)

Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in south Lebanon on Sunday after issuing new evacuation warnings for villages beyond the area it occupies, despite a truce with Lebanon intended to halt fighting with Hezbollah.

"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the villages and towns by at least 1,000 meters into open areas," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

The warning covers more than 10 villages and towns including several in the district of Nabatieh, which lies north of the Litani River, south of which Israel has stationed troops.

Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir has threatened to strike Hezbollah "beyond the yellow line.”

"Any threat, anywhere, against our communities or our forces -- including beyond the yellow line and north of the Litani -- will be eliminated," he said during a visit to Israeli troops this week.

The Israeli military said Sunday it was conducting operations against Hezbollah following what it described ⁠as a violation of their April 17 ceasefire agreement, warning that anyone near Hezbollah fighters or facilities could be at risk.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency later reported a series of Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, including on towns not mentioned in the evacuation warning.

Hezbollah, has kept up its drone and rocket attacks against Israeli troops in Lebanon and on northern Israel.

It has recently begun using cheap drones controlled by fiber-optic cable, making them largely immune to electronic jamming, to conduct daily attacks.

These drones have a range of several dozen kilometers, which puts Israeli troops in Lebanon and communities in northern Israel under threat.