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
Emery glad to see Rashford make landmark appearance
“Happy because he is achieving individual objectives as well, with these appearances he is doing, playing matches here with us”
LONDON: Aston Villa manager Unai Emery said he was “happy” for Marcus Rashford as the England forward prepares to make his 500th career appearance.
Rashford has undergone something of an on-field revival since joining the Birmingham club on loan from Manchester United, with the England forward scoring three goals in his last two Villa outings.
He is now set to make his 12th appearance for Emery’s side at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, having made 426 appearances for United in total and won 62 caps for England.
“Happy for him,” Emery said. “Happy because he is achieving individual objectives as well, with these appearances he is doing, playing matches here with us.
“And try to enjoy with him, not more, try to feel comfortable himself every day here, with everything we are doing and with his team-mates.
“Training, playing and of course with the challenges we have together, to try to achieve, and to play in his best form, qualities, skills and confidence.”
Villa are chasing a seventh straight win in all competitions against high-flying Midlands rivals Forest as they aim to continue an impressive season.
They reached the FA Cup semifinals with victory at Preston on Sunday, and Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Brighton lifted them to within four points of the top four with eight games to play.
Spanish manager Emery could have a full-strength squad to face Forest, with Ross Barkley recovering from a long-term knee injury and Leon Bailey set for a late fitness test.
Emery said having returning players available again would be vital to how Villa finished the season, adding: “We don’t have now time to explain a lot about how we are, and how we are playing a lot of matches now being very, very important in Premier League, in Champions League and in FA Cup.
“Of course, the players now, we are recovering players, we are feeling stronger.
“We were in some moments in the season with some players injured, with some players not feeling physically good.
“We were struggling sometimes and not achieving the objective we were facing in that moment.
“Of course now, with the players we have more or less available for (Saturday’s) match, or the match we play before, I’m happy because my plan is to try to extend 90 minutes competing in the demands we have, and the demands (of) the opponent facing us.”
WHO sounds alarm over surging global cholera cases in 2025
- Dr. Philippe Barboza, cholera team lead at the WHO, said that more than 100,000 cases and 1,300 deaths have already been reported globally in the first few months of 2025
GENEVA: The World Health Organization has raised serious concerns over a sharp global rise in cholera infections and deaths, warning that the disease is spreading to new regions and threatening vulnerable populations already burdened by conflict and climate-related crises.
Speaking in Geneva on Friday, Dr. Philippe Barboza, cholera team lead at the WHO, said that more than 100,000 cases and 1,300 deaths have already been reported globally in the first few months of 2025.
Preliminary data from 2024 revealed 810,000 cases and 5,900 deaths, which marked a significant increase compared to 2023. However, Barboza cautioned that the actual numbers are likely higher due to incomplete reporting.
“Cholera should not exist in the 21st century,” he said. “Yet it is now spreading to countries where it had never been present before, such as Namibia and Kenya.”
In several countries, the case fatality rate has exceeded 1 percent, with Angola standing out as particularly hard-hit.
Barboza, who recently returned from the country, reported a fatality rate of over 4 percent, and warned of the disease’s rapid spread within Angola and to neighboring nations.
Angola currently accounts for 36 percent of all global cholera cases reported in 2025.
The WHO and its partners have responded by dispatching rapid deployment teams, setting up treatment facilities, and conducting staff training across affected regions.
Elsewhere, Myanmar has reported 12,000 acute cholera cases since July 2024, while Haiti is grappling with an outbreak but lacks the necessary funding to manage it effectively.
Barboza emphasized the compounded impact of armed conflict and climate change in accelerating the spread of cholera, stressing the need for joint action and sustained investment to prevent further outbreaks.
As of late March, the WHO had 5.6 million treatment doses stockpiled for emergency responses. However, soaring global demand highlights the urgent need for expanded vaccine production, with Barboza saying: “Cholera should not be killing anyone in the 21st century.”
Pakistan detains hundreds of Afghans as allegations of bribery, unlawful arrests surface
- The government announced a March 31 deadline for ACC holders to leave the country or face deportation
- Spokesperson for the Afghan government says Kabul is ready to welcome repatriated refugee families
KARACHI: Pakistani police have detained hundreds of Afghan refugees holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) across the country, with activists claiming Friday the authorities are also rounding up refugees exempt from the current deportation round, though the government denies the allegation.
According to UN data, Pakistan hosts more than 2.8 million Afghan nationals who crossed the porous border in a desperate attempt to escape decades of war and instability in their home country.
Around 1.3 million of them are formally registered as refugees and hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, which grant them legal protections. Another 800,000 Afghans possess ACCs, a separate identity document issued by the Pakistani government that recognizes them as Afghan nationals without offering refugee status. Last month, the government announced that ACC holders must leave Pakistan by March 31 or face deportation.
Since the start of April, police crackdowns have been reported in different Pakistani cities, though the federal authorities have not released any data on the recent detentions. The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, have said that 193 ACC holders have been deported from Peshawar.
“In Karachi, more than 100 PoR card holders have been detained, some of whom we managed to get released,” human rights activist Moniza Kakar, who is monitoring the process, told Arab News.
“Similarly, a large number of refugees with legal status have been detained for bribes in different cities of Punjab and the capital Islamabad,” she added.
The ongoing Afghan repatriation process is part of a broader drive launched in 2023, which has so far seen more than 800,000 Afghans expelled.
Pakistani authorities maintain Afghan nationals have been involved in militant attacks and organized crime, accusations Kabul denies.
The crackdown began amid a surge in violence in Pakistan by armed groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), whose leaders Islamabad claims are based in Afghanistan, a charge rejected by the Taliban administration.
Asked about the claims of an indiscriminate crackdown against Afghan nationals, Qadir Yar Tiwana, Director General of Media at the Ministry of Interior, refuted these allegations.
“No PoR card holders have been arrested,” he told Arab News over the phone. “If anyone possessing a PoR card is detained during the process, they are immediately released after verification of their credentials.”
Tiwana said the operation was only targeting “illegal immigrants” and was ongoing.
He added that detailed data on arrests and deportations would be shared at a later stage.
Requests for comment from the Sindh home minister and the Karachi Police chief went unanswered.
Hajji Abdullah Shah Bukhari, chairman of Afghan refugees in Sindh, agreed with Tiwana.
“Over 300 ACC holders have been detained in Karachi,” he said. “They [the police] are also taking some PoR card holders, but they [the refugees] are set free once their credentials are verified.”
Kakar, however, said this was only done after these refugees bribed the police.
“Hundreds of registered PoR card holders have contacted us saying they have been arrested and bribes were demanded of them,” she asserted.
Muzaffar Shah, a resident of Islamabad, corroborated these accounts, saying numerous refugees holding PoR cards had been taken from his neighborhood despite showing police their identity.
“The UNHCR is silent, the Taliban are quiet and the government of Pakistan is quiet, while poor refugees are facing hardship,” Shah, himself a registered refugee, said over the phone, referring to governmental functionaries and officials of the UN refugee agency.
Rahmatullah Jan, a refugee in Karachi, recalled being picked up alongside ACC holders in the Sohrab Goth area.
“Despite immediately presenting my PoR card to the raiding police, I was still taken to the station before eventually being released,” he said.
Spokespersons for the UNHCR and the consul general of Afghanistan in Karachi did not respond to requests for comment.
However, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Afghan government, agreed to address the issue over the phone.
“We expressed the desire that refugees should not be forced, but rather be left to make their own choice,” he said. “We have also urged Afghan refugees to return to their homeland, and we will welcome them.”
Kurdish fighters leave northern city in Syria as part of deal with central government
- The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh
- The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month
ALEPPO, Syria: Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in the Syrian Arab Republic’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.
The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.
The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.
The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.
Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.
After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.
Kurds made up 10 percent of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.
Russian missile strike kills 14 in Ukraine leader’s home city
- The missile struck a residential area near a children’s playground and wounded more than 50 people
- “It was preliminarily a ballistic missile attack. As of now, 14 people have been killed, including six children,” Zelensky said
KYIV: A Russian ballistic missile strike on Volodymyr Zelensky’s home city of Kryvyi Rig killed 14 people on Friday, including six children, the Ukrainian leader said.
The missile struck a residential area near a children’s playground and wounded more than 50 people, according to the head of the city’s military administration.
Unverified videos on social media appeared to show bodies lying on a street, while another showed a plume of smoke rising into the evening sky.
“It was preliminarily a ballistic missile attack. As of now, 14 people have been killed, including six children,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
The rescue operation was ongoing, he added.
Regional governor Sergiy Lysak said the number of reported casualties was “constantly increasing.”
“There is only one reason why this continues — Russia does not want a ceasefire and we see it. The whole world sees it,” Zelensky said.
“And only the world’s pressure on Russia, all efforts to strengthen Ukraine, our air defense, our forces — only this will determine when the war will end.”
The Ukrainian leader was born in Kryvyi Rig, which had a pre-war population of around 600,000 people.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war, holding talks with both Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire, while Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive.
Kryvyi Rig, in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the front line but has regularly been targeted by Russian drones and missiles.
A previous Russian ballistic attack on the city on Wednesday killed at least four people and wounded more than a dozen others.
Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s military administration, said the missile landed near a children’s playground.
Five apartment buildings were damaged, interior minister Igor Klymenko said.
He said police had blocked off the area to maintain order.
“The police are documenting the consequences of Russia’s war crime and accepting statements from the victims,” he added.
Social media video from the scene showed a car in flames, while people could be heard shouting.
Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian official tasked with countering disinformation, described the missile involved in the attack as an “Iskander.”
The Iskander is a Russian ballistic missile system that can have a range of up to 500 kilometers (311 miles).
“This is a deliberate strike to kill a large number of people,” Kovalenko said.
