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Kurdistan Region Seeks Retroactive Compensation for Crimes Committed Under Saddam Hussein

Kurdish families at a cemetery for victims of the chemical bombardment of the city of Halabja (AFP). 
Kurdish families at a cemetery for victims of the chemical bombardment of the city of Halabja (AFP). 
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Kurdistan Region Seeks Retroactive Compensation for Crimes Committed Under Saddam Hussein

Kurdish families at a cemetery for victims of the chemical bombardment of the city of Halabja (AFP). 
Kurdish families at a cemetery for victims of the chemical bombardment of the city of Halabja (AFP). 

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has renewed a retroactive demand for compensation from Iraq’s federal government for crimes committed by the regime of the late president Saddam Hussein against the Kurds.

The move is widely seen as a calculated bid for leverage as calls grow to scrutinize the region’s revenues and governance.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the KRG said it is seeking $384.6 billion in compensation for the people of the Kurdistan Region for damages resulting from “crimes committed by the Iraqi regime between 1963 and 2003”, the period of Baath Party rule from its coup against the government of Abdul Karim Qasim until the US-led invasion that toppled it.

The claim is not unprecedented. Erbil made the same demand in 2013, according to a statement issued at the time by the KRG’s Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs.

Why now?

Explaining the timing, Jotiar Adil, head of the KRG’s Department of Media and Information, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Erbil did not choose the timing; it was imposed by the painful paradox in Baghdad’s dealings with the region.”

Constitutional rights, he said, “do not lapse with time,” adding that reopening the compensation file is meant to remind partners in Baghdad that the people of Kurdistan are owed billions of dollars for widespread destruction and genocide.

Adil argued that subjecting the region to “microscopic scrutiny” over oil and non-oil revenues while ignoring the destruction of 4,500 villages—wiped out during the 1988 military campaign internationally recognized as genocide—was illogical.

“The timing carries a message,” he said. “Before you cut our people’s livelihoods today, remember your historical debts to them.” He rejected suggestions that the move was political maneuvering, describing it instead as “a legal rights case aimed at justice, not at paralyzing Baghdad.”

A dispute over resources

Baghdad has insisted on implementing agreements governing oil revenues and border crossings before releasing the region’s financial entitlements. Technical disputes are often entangled with political negotiations over forming federal governments.

Iraq’s constitution provides for joint management of oil and gas, equitable revenue distribution based on population, and temporary allocations for areas damaged by past conflicts.

For years, the Kurdistan Region exported oil via Türkiye’s Ceyhan port without Baghdad’s approval. Exports were halted in 2023 following an international arbitration ruling requiring sales to be conducted through the state oil marketer, SOMO, exacerbating tensions.

Although an agreement was reached in 2025 on handing over the region’s oil, it has yet to be implemented. Baghdad later cut public-sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region as leverage, a move Erbil condemned as a violation of citizens’ rights.

Adil said the compensation figure was based on international standards similar to those used by the UN Compensation Commission in assessing damages to Kuwait after Iraq’s 1990 invasion, factoring in cumulative harm and present value.

He noted that post-2003 governments honored Saddam-era obligations abroad — paying compensation to Kuwait and settling Paris Club debts — while rejecting comparable responsibility toward victims at home.

 

 

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Arab World

UK Govt Bans Goods from Israeli Settlements in the West Bank as it Toughens Its Stance

A new Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 24, 2026. (Reuters)
A new Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 24, 2026. (Reuters)
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UK Govt Bans Goods from Israeli Settlements in the West Bank as it Toughens Its Stance

A new Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 24, 2026. (Reuters)
A new Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 24, 2026. (Reuters)

The United Kingdom on Tuesday banned trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, where it says “settler terrorists” are carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians.

In response, Israel said it would close the British consulate in Jerusalem, the country’s foreign minister said Tuesday.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the UK will ban imports of all goods from the settlements and bar companies from providing services for the settlements, including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising. He said France and Canada would also ban trade in goods from settlements.

“I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets," Miliband said.

The economic impact is likely to be limited, since the settlements produce only a small amount of largely agricultural exports. But the move is a symbolic expression of displeasure with Israel by some of its closest allies, and new sign of its growing isolation as a result of the Gaza war.

Miliband said that he feels “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community.”

“We will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution,” he said.

In a statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel would undertake other countermeasures, including expelling UK representatives from a joint military center monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and ending UK training of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in the West Bank.

In addition, Israel will prevent the entry into Israel of 12 elected UK officials, as well as other British citizens Saar said were “involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.”

Settlements have expanded under Netanyahu

Under the ultranationalist government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, settlement construction in the West Bank — seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — has surged. Netanyahu’s government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

The international community overwhelmingly considers such construction to be illegal and an obstacle to peace. Britain and other countries have voiced particular concern about the E1 settlement project approved by Israel, which would effectively cut the territory in two. Palestinians and rights groups say it could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.

There have been marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband said. He said there had been “houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes.”

The ban on trade will be in place in six to nine months, Miliband said. He said Canada and France will also announce a ban on goods from Israeli settlements, while Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have pledged to “support further action.”

The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods from settlements or are in the process of doing so, he said.

Miliband also tightened Britain’s embargo on weapons sales to Israel for use in Gaza to include arms “that materially contribute to the occupation” of Palestinian territories.

Move follows UK recognition of a Palestinian state

The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognized Palestinian statehood last year in an attempt to revive dwindling efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

The center-left Labour Party government has previously sanctioned some Israeli settlers and illegal outposts over violence against Palestinians and illegal development in the West Bank.

In a change of Britain’s position, Miliband said Tuesday that the UK regards Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, and not just the settlements, as illegal.

The tougher stance is likely to be welcomed by many Labour voters and lawmakers, who have urged the government to go further in sanctioning Israel and supporting the Palestinians.

But some Labour members expressed concern that the sanctions could boost support for Netanyahu, who is facing a tough battle for reelection in October, or lead to attacks on British Jews.

Opposition Conservative Party foreign affairs spokesman Tom Tugendhat said that "turning Israel into a pariah will risk sectarian division in own country and risk a further rise in antisemitic violence on our own streets.”

Announcement sparks anger in Israel

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the ban “a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history.

“In the current context, it would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation,” he said.

Senior Israeli ministers also condemned the UK government’s position before the actual announcement was made. Saar warned that “if Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hard-line public security minister and a settler leader, called on Netanyahu to recognize Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic known in Argentina as Islas Malvinas.

The move was also criticized by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, a longtime supporter of the settlements, who said that it was “discrimination against the Jewish people.” He said the UK could face “repercussions or retaliations” from the US if it imposed the sanctions.

Several US states have laws banning contracts or investments with businesses that boycott Israeli firms, including those based in the West Bank. US Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, said in a post on social media that the UK ban could put at risk “billions of dollars” in trade between British businesses and Florida.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s office said he spoke with US President Donald Trump on Monday and set out “the UK’s commitment to working toward peace and security in the region” and achieving a two-state solution. There was no word on how Trump responded.

Arab World

Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian Man in West Bank Raid

Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the Israel army following a military operation after a Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said, while the military said it killed a suspect who had attempted to attack troops.

The Palestinian health ministry announced the death of 28-year-old Abdul Karim Muhammad Khader Suleiman, who it said was "shot and killed by the occupation forces on Tuesday morning in the town of Aqraba.”

It said his body was being withheld by Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military said soldiers arrived in Aqraba, in the north of the West Bank, "in order to question a terrorist," who then threw a Molotov cocktail and an improvised explosive device towards them, causing no injuries.

It said soldiers surrounded and then entered the building, where they encountered him holding a knife "which he intended to use to attack the soldiers" and killed him.

Israeli soliders gather during a military operation in the Israel-occupied West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

AFP footage from the scene showed the exterior wall of the targeted house with gaping holes in the side, while young Palestinian boys stood among the pile of rubble strewn below.

An eyewitness and Aqraba's mayor said Israeli forces had fired projectiles at the house and brought in military bulldozers.

The mayor, Salah al-Din Jaber, said between 300 and 400 soldiers raided the town overnight, declared it a closed military zone, and surrounded the house.

Suleiman's wife and mother left the house first, and he stayed inside, Jaber told AFP by telephone. "After that, they arrested him and executed him in front of the house, and they seized his body."

"This was a show of force, nothing more and nothing less," he added.

Jaber said the slain man had been unarmed and there had been no exchange of fire.

Arab World

Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
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Iraqi Judiciary Backs Government Efforts to Bring Weapons Under State Control

The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)
The head of the Supreme Judicial Council met with the US chargé d'affaires in Iraq (The Judiciary’s Media Office)

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan has stressed the judiciary’s support for government efforts to bring weapons under state control based on a plan adopted by the Coordination Framework.

Zidan made the remarks during a meeting Monday with the new US chargé d’affaires in Iraq, Steven Fagin. A statement from the Supreme Judicial Council said the two discussed the judiciary’s role in supporting the government’s program to restrict weapons to the state.

The process will proceed under “a well-studied plan” adopted by the Coordination Framework, with a committee established by the alliance tasked with preparing it and announcing it once completed and at the appropriate time. The plan is intended to uphold Iraq’s positive relations with the international community and ensure compliance with the constitution and the law.

Legal and political sources have previously indicated that the Iraqi judiciary is determined to designate militias as terrorist organizations if they refuse to disarm by the deadline for the withdrawal of international coalition forces.

Coordination Framework leaders were also expected to hold their weekly meeting Monday to discuss several issues, foremost among them bringing weapons under state control, completing the government lineup and proposed amendments to the Popular Mobilization Forces law.

Coalition withdrawal

With the Sept. 30 deadline for the withdrawal of US-led international coalition forces approaching, uncertainty continues to surround key political and security issues, particularly efforts to disarm Iran-aligned factions.

Washington has repeatedly pressed Baghdad in recent months to resolve the issue, warning that failure to do so could expose Iraq to economic and political sanctions at a time when the country is already facing financial strains.

A source close to the Coordination Framework told Asharq Al-Awsat that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government had softened its previously firm rhetoric on disarming the factions, while armed groups had become increasingly vocal in rejecting the demand.

The source attributed the shift to tense discussions within the Coordination Framework and between its leaders and al-Zaidi. The prime minister has repeatedly warned of the risks of failing to disarm and pointed to US demands, while some Framework leaders believe there is room to maneuver with Washington.

Conflicting statements by Framework leaders are also part of an effort to buy time, the source added, as the alliance faces pressure from two sides: Washington, which wants the issue resolved, and Tehran, which opposes disarmament.

State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki recently raised the possibility of distinguishing between heavy, medium and light weapons, questioning whether restrictions should cover all arms or only weapons capable of striking domestic or foreign targets.

His comments were widely interpreted as a shift toward opposing comprehensive disarmament, prompting his office director, Hisham al-Rikabi, to say they had been “misunderstood.”

Factions resist disarmament

Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada are among the most prominent Iran-aligned factions strongly resisting disarmament. Their demands have included the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Iraq and placing Kurdish Peshmerga forces under the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Firas Elias, a political science professor at the University of Mosul, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Sept. 30 was unlikely to mark a comprehensive handover of weapons.

Instead, he expects the deadline to begin a lengthy process involving the coalition’s withdrawal, a transitional period, the classification of factions and weapons, and the integration or redistribution of some fighters, alongside efforts to place heavy weapons, drones and missiles under state supervision.

The factions’ stringent conditions may indicate a shift from rejecting disarmament outright to negotiating the price of surrendering their weapons autonomy, Elias said.

The equation, he added, is moving from “weapons versus the state” to “weapons versus guarantees,” with factions setting demands Baghdad cannot fully meet so they can later concede some conditions while retaining part of their power and influence.