BAGHDAD: Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi on Monday warned there could be a “civil war” over the Kurdish-administered city of Kirkuk if talks over Kurdish independence are left unresolved.
Allawi, in an interview with The Associated Press, urged Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, as well as Iraq’s central government and its Iranian-backed militias, to show restraint and resolve their disputes over the oil-rich city.
Ruling out a military solution to the crisis, Ihssan Al-Shimari, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi, told Arab News: “Talking about a civil war between Kurds and Arabs is an attempt to pressure both sides — Baghdad and Kurdistan — but the reality on the ground doesn’t indicate any of these expectations.”
Al-Shimari said: “The prime minister has flatly refused to fight Kurdish citizens and still relies on constitutional measures, which offer a wide range of options to the federal government to deal with the crisis.”
He added: “Kirkuk is a disputed area, and according to the constitution its administration has to go back to the Iraqi federal government.”
Kirkuk was included in Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence referendum last month, even though it falls outside the autonomous Kurdish region in the country’s northeast.
The ethnically mixed city has been administered by Kurdish forces since 2014, when the Iraqi military fled a Daesh advance.
The referendum was held despite strong objections from Baghdad, Ankara and Tehran. Barzani has not yet declared independence.
“Iraqis should be left alone to discuss their own problems without interference,” said Allawi. “Kirkuk has become a flashpoint.”
The head of the Asaib Al-Haq militia, Qais Khazali, on Sunday warned that the Kurds were planning to claim much of northern Iraq, including Kirkuk, for an independent state, after they voted for independence in a controversial but non-binding referendum two weeks ago.
He said it would be tantamount to a “foreign occupation,” reported the Afaq TV channel, which is close to the state-sanctioned militia.
Allawi, a former prime minister, said any move by the country’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), which include Asaib Al-Haq, to enter Kirkuk would “damage all possibilities for unifying Iraq” and open the door to “violent conflict.”
He said if the government controls the PMUs, as it claims, it “should restrain them, rather than go into a kind of civil war.” Allawi also urged the Kurdish side “not to take aggressive measures to control these lands.”
Mohammed Naji, a lawmaker and a senior leader of Badr — one of the most prominent Iraqi Shiite militias — told Arab News: “It’s early to pick up the last option (confrontation). The federal government will use all available measures to contain the crisis, and using (military) power to impose federal authority (in Kirkuk) and preserve the unity of Iraqi lands and people will be the last option.”
Naji said: “From the beginning, we’ve said the referendum is unconstitutional. It violates the first item of the Iraqi constitution, and any action that aims to divide Iraq is unacceptable to all Iraqis.”
He added: “Resolving the problem of Kirkuk and the other disputed areas would be according to the constitution, and we can go back to talks (with the Kurds) under the umbrella of the constitution.”
He continued: “We’ve asked both parties (Baghdad and Irbil) to abide by the constitution, but if the Kurdish brothers insist on their stubbornness, this means they want to go with the hardest option, which is confrontation.”
Al-Abadi demanded that the Kurdistan Regional Government annul the referendum result, and called for joint administration of Kirkuk. Baghdad has closed Iraqi Kurdistan’s airspace to international flights.
Turkey and Iran have threatened punitive measures against the Kurdish region, fearing the encouragement of separatist sentiment among their own Kurdish populations.
Iraqi VP warns of ‘civil war’ over Kurdish-held Kirkuk
Iraqi VP warns of ‘civil war’ over Kurdish-held Kirkuk
Visual artists craft souvenirs for visitors at ART Riyadh Week
- Organized by the Saudi Visual Arts Commission, the eight-day event is running until April 13 at the JAX District in Diriyah, under the theme At the Edge
- Fund is a programming partner in the inaugural edition of ART Riyadh Week, and presents an exclusive collection of artworks at its pavilion
RIYADH: The Cultural Development Fund is offering exclusive souvenirs during ART Riyadh Week, designed for visitors in collaboration with Saudi visual artists.
Organized by the Saudi Visual Arts Commission, the eight-day event is running until April 13 at the JAX District in Diriyah, under the theme “At the Edge.”
The fund is a programming partner in the inaugural edition of ART Riyadh Week, and presents an exclusive collection of artworks at its pavilion, created in collaboration with leading figures in the visual arts sector.
Among the standout exhibits are limited-edition souvenirs, designed in partnership with renowned Saudi visual artists Lulwah Al-Homoud and Faisal Al-Kheriji.
The scheme seeks to promote local talent while celebrating unique artistic expression.
The fund’s activities include a workshop titled “Cultural Financing for the Visual Arts Sector,” which highlights available funding opportunities to support businesses throughout the entire value chain of the sector.
The fund’s involvement highlights its steadfast commitment to advancing cultural projects and nurturing creative production across all 16 cultural sectors, including the visual arts.
Nawaf Al-Owain, executive director of marketing and communications at the Cultural Development Fund, highlighted the organization as a pivotal financial force in Saudi Arabia's cultural landscape.
Al-Owain told Arab News: “Our participation in ART Riyadh Week and other major cultural and developmental events is part of the fund’s commitment to aligning its efforts with both the cultural and developmental landscapes.
“These platforms enable us to engage directly with entrepreneurs and companies in the cultural sector, introducing them to the financial and non-financial solutions offered by the Community Arts Development Fund to support the launch and growth of their projects,” Al-Owain added.
The fund’s pavilion serves as a dynamic platform for engaging with entrepreneurs in the visual arts sector, offering in-depth insights into the cultural funding programs provided by the fund and showcasing its solutions that support the growth of creative projects, he said.
Its activities aim to broaden access to sector opportunities, while also aligning with the objectives of the National Culture Strategy to support the development of a sustainable and thriving cultural sector in Saudi Arabia, Al-Owain added.
Through its participation, the fund highlights the opportunities it offers to empower the visual arts sector, and foster a supportive environment for expanding cultural projects, he said.
Pakistan markets rebound as Trump makes tariff U-turn
- US President Donald Trump has announced a 90-day delay in tariffs
- KSE-100 Index surged by over 2,036 points following the announcement
KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market bounced back on Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay in tariffs, analysts said.
The KSE-100 Index surged by over 2,036 points (1.75 percent), following the announcement.
On Wednesday (April 9), the KSE-100 Index had dropped 5 percent, leading to a 45-minute halt in trading.
Zafar Moti, CEO of Zafar Moti Capital Securities, said the decision helped calm investors, while Ahsan Mehanti, Managing Director and CEO of Arif Habib Group, said the pause in tariffs was seen as good news by investors.
“The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed on a positive note,” Topline Securities said in its daily market review.
“This upward trajectory was fueled by a strong rebound in US and other international equity markets, with the index rallying as much as 3,331 points during intraday trading.”
Turkiye’s Erdogan meets pro-Kurdish politicians as they seek to end a 40-year conflict
- Erdogan met Pervin Buldan and Sirri Sureyya Onder, parliamentary deputies for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, at the presidential palace in Ankara
- Buldan and Onder have been among those to visit the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in a bid to build a framework to end fighting that has caused tens of thousands of deaths
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday held a first meeting with pro-Kurdish politicians who are working to bring an end to the 40-year conflict between Turkiye and Kurdish militants.
Erdogan met Pervin Buldan and Sirri Sureyya Onder, parliamentary deputies for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM Party, at the presidential palace in Ankara.
“It was a very positive meeting, it went well. We are much more hopeful,” Onder said.
In a statement after the meeting, the DEM Party said it was held “in an extremely positive, constructive, productive and hopeful atmosphere for the future,” emphasizing the “vital importance” of maintaining a ceasefire and strengthening political dialogue.
Also present at the 1½ hour meeting were intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Efkan Ala, deputy chairperson of Erdogan’s party.
Buldan and Onder have been among those to visit the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in a bid to build a framework to end fighting that has caused tens of thousands of deaths.
Abdullah Ocalan, whose PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye and most Western states, called for the group to disband and disarm in late February. Days later the PKK announced a ceasefire.
The PKK appealed for Ocalan to be released from the island prison where he has been held since 1999 to “personally direct and execute” a party congress that would lead to the group’s dissolution.
Erdogan at the time described developments as an “opportunity to take a historic step toward tearing down the wall of terror” between Turks and Kurds.
Since then little concrete progress has been seen, with the government not publicly offering any incentives or proposals to the PKK. Instead, the Turkish military has kept up its campaign against PKK insurgents in northern Iraq while Turkish-backed Syrian groups combat PKK-linked fighters in northeast Syria.
The PKK’s ceasefire came against the backdrop of fundamental changes in the region, including the reconfiguration of power in neighboring Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
It also followed judicial pressure on the DEM Party, with several of its mayors being removed from office in recent months and replaced by government appointees.
Some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.
The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.
Syrian refugee murdered in UK had only been in town a fortnight: Uncle
- Ahmad Mamdouh Al-Ibrahim, 16, was stabbed in the neck in Huddersfield
- ‘He was a good boy. He came here (from Homs) to be a doctor, to save people’
LONDON: The uncle of a young Syrian refugee who was stabbed to death in the UK on April 3 said the boy had only lived in the town he was in for two weeks before his murder.
Ahmad Mamdouh Al-Ibrahim, 16, was stabbed in the neck in Huddersfield while out getting to know the area. Alfie Franco, 20, was arrested and appeared in court charged with Al-Ibrahim’s murder.
Al-Ibrahim was living in Huddersfield with the family of his uncle, who told The Guardian that he had encouraged his nephew to go out and make friends following the end of Ramadan.
“He was trying to make a friend, because he didn’t have friends here. I said to him, you have to go out into the town centre to know (where everything is), to know where you can go shopping … plus, you’re going to make friends,” said his uncle, who asked to remain anonymous.
“He’d only spent a few days with my kids but they loved him so much because he was a very nice boy, very lovely and kindly with the kids. He played with them and gave them a lot of time.”
He said rumors circulating online that his nephew was a drug dealer had caused him great distress, adding that he had not yet told his own children, all aged under 10, that their cousin is dead. They believe he is still in hospital.
“He was only 16,” he said tearfully. “He was a good boy. He went from a nice family (in Syria) to a nice family (in the UK).”
Al-Ibrahim, he said, had left behind his family in the Syrian city of Homs, where he had been a popular student with teachers and classmates, and had excelled at maths.
“That’s why he came here. He wished to be a doctor, to save people,” said his uncle, who fled the civil war in Syria.
“We’ve been eight years here — we’ve not had trouble, not had a problem. We go from work to home, school, that’s it.”
Al-Ibrahim’s uncle said when he first moved to the UK last October, his nephew had spent time in a refugee center in Swansea.
He told The Guardian that staff at the center, as well as the teenager’s social worker, were “heartbroken” by what had happened, and that they told him they had “never seen him happy like this” when they checked on his well-being after he moved to Huddersfield on March 20.
“They were crying for Ahmad, they said they loved him,” the uncle said, adding that the family had been left afraid by the killing.
“I’ve been (in Huddersfield) eight years. I thought it was a safe place. I didn’t worry before, like now.”
Many members of the local community have raised money for Al-Ibrahim’s body to be returned to his family in Syria.
Maneer Siddique, who owns a local tailoring business, launched a fundraising page that has raised over £10,000 ($12,910) for the family.
“You would want help if you were in a dire situation, so why shouldn’t you help somebody else in a dire situation,” Siddique told The Guardian.
Pope Francis in surprise St. Peter’s visit a day after meeting King Charles
- Pope Francis entered the sprawling basilica in his wheelchair, greeting workers engaged in restoration work and some gathered pilgrims
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, who is recovering from life-threatening pneumonia, made an unscheduled visit to St. Peter’s Basilica Thursday, his second surprise event in two days after previously meeting King Charles III.
The public appearance, after Wednesday’s unscheduled private audience with the king and Queen Camilla, comes as the 88-year-old Catholic leader recovers at the Vatican after five weeks in hospital.
On Thursday afternoon, the pope entered the sprawling basilica in his wheelchair, greeting workers engaged in restoration work and some gathered pilgrims, Vatican News reported.
When a young restorer caught a glimpse of the pope, he beckoned to her to come closer so he could thank her and shake her hand, the ANSA agency reported.
The young woman replied “that she was sorry that her ‘hands were cold’ but the pope wanted to shake them anyway,” the agency reported.
Monsignor Valerio Di Palma, the canon of St. Peter’s, told Vatican News the pope’s appearance sparked “too much emotion.”
“My vision blurred from the tears and I couldn’t even take a photo,” he said.
Francis then proceeded to the tomb of Pope Pius X to pray, before departing back to the Santa Marta guesthouse, where he resides.
On Wednesday afternoon, the pope met privately with Charles and Camilla for 20 minutes, despite Buckingham Palace having earlier canceled a planned official audience due to the pontiff’s frail health.
It was the first meeting between Charles, the head of the Protestant Church of England, and the pope since the monarch ascended to the throne in 2022.
The Vatican published a photo of the meeting on Thursday morning, showing the pope clasping the queen’s hand, with the king looking on holding a gift box.
Francis offered his congratulations to the royal couple, who celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary Wednesday, the palace and the Vatican said.
During the encounter, the king — who is receiving treatment for cancer — and the pope also exchanged well-wishes for each other’s health, the Vatican said.
“Their majesties were delighted the Pope was well enough to host them — and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person,” a Buckingham Palace statement added.
Charles, 76, has been suffering from an unnamed cancer for more than a year and less than two weeks ago he was briefly admitted to hospital after experiencing side effects from his treatment.
He was out of action for a matter of days before resuming his official engagements on April 1.
Francis, who almost died twice during his treatment for double pneumonia, has been in convalescence since his return to the Vatican on March 23.
Despite being ordered to rest and recover for two months, the Argentine made an unexpected appearance in St. Peter’s Square last Sunday at the end of a mass.
On Tuesday, the Vatican said that Francis’s voice and mobility were improving, raising hopes that he may take part in upcoming Easter celebrations.
He has been using a cannula — a plastic tube tucked into the nostrils — to help him breathe, notably at night, but was not wearing one in the picture released Thursday.
