Are the Kurds, Who Courageously Fought ISIS When Obama Wouldn't, To Be Denied Their Independence Again?
Oct 16, 2017 15:18:30 #
Breaking from Twitter:
#BREAKING: Iraqi forces are inside the office of Najmaldin Karim, governor of #Kirkuk city. #KurdistanBlockade
10:56 AM - Oct 16, 2017
Where do the Kurds come from?
The Kurds are an ethnic group originating from the Middle East who claim the ancestry of the Biblical Medes of Media, an ancient country of northwestern Iran, generally corresponding to the modern regions of Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and parts of Kermanshahan; known to be fierce warriors whose land of Media was combined with ancient Persia by King Cyrus the Great (598-600 BC).
Between 25 and 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never, in modernity, obtained a permanent nation state.
In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland - generally referred to as "Kurdistan". After World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres.
Such hopes were dashed three years later, however, when the Treaty of Lausanne, which set the boundaries of modern Turkey, made no provision for a Kurdish state and left Kurds with minority status in their respective countries. Over the next 80 years, any move by Kurds to set up an independent state was brutally quashed.
In recent decades, Kurds have increasingly influenced regional developments, fighting for autonomy in Turkey and playing prominent roles in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, where they have resisted the advance of the so-called Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
In mid-2013, IS turned its sights on three Kurdish enclaves that bordered its territory in northern Syria. It launched repeated attacks that until mid-2014 were repelled by the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Unity Party. The turning point was an offensive in Iraq in June 2014 that saw IS overrun the northern city of Mosul, routing Iraqi army divisions and seizing weaponry later moved to Syria.
The jihadists' advance in Iraq also drew that country's Kurds into the conflict. The government of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region sent its Peshmerga forces to areas abandoned by the army.
In January 2015, after a battle that left at least 1,600 people dead and more than 3,200 buildings destroyed or damaged, Kurdish forces regained control of Kobane.
Since then, the Kurds have inflicted a series of defeats on IS in northern Syria with the help of US-led coalition airpower. They have established control over a 400km (250-mile) stretch of contiguous territory along the Turkish border and advanced upon the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
Fighting under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces, they have emerged as a key ally of the US-led coalition, which considers it one of the few effective partners on the ground in Syria.
The Kurds are now one of the indigenous people of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what is now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia, and are predominately Sunni Muslims, speaking a distinct language and sharing a singular cultural identity despite being scattered across four countries.
For centuries, the Kurds have been the largest stateless ethnic group (currently 30 million) in the Middle East, living under various empires and despots where they have faced discrimination and oppression while being denied the right to enjoy their unique and ancient culture.
Sadly, not a single country (with the exception of Israel) expressed its support for the Kurds’ historic decision to finally realize their centuries-old dream of establishing a state of their own. Although the passage of the referendum did not automatically lead to statehood, it represented a crucial step forward that should have opened the door for negotiations with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad to reach an agreement.
Does God yet have a future role for this most ancient of people whom He has preserved?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41641563
Iraqi forces enter Kirkuk as Kurds flee
1 hour ago
From the section Middle East
Breaking from Twitter:
#BREAKING: Iraqi forces are inside the office of Najmaldin Karim, governor of #Kirkuk city. #KurdistanBlockade
10:56 AM - Oct 16, 2017
Iraqi government forces have entered central Kirkuk after taking key installations outside the disputed city from Kurdish fighters.
Thousands of people fled the city ahead of the Iraqi advance.
The Iraqi military moved into Kirkuk three weeks after the Kurdistan Region held a controversial independence referendum.
They are aiming to retake areas under Kurdish control since Islamic State militants swept through the region.
Residents of Kurdish-controlled areas, including Kirkuk, overwhelmingly backed secession from Iraq in a 25 September v**e.
While Kirkuk is outside Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish v**ers in the city were allowed to take part.
Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, had denounced the v**e as unconstitutional. But the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) insisted it was legitimate.
US officials said they were "engaged with all parties in Iraq to de-escalate tension"
Mr Abadi said in a statement on Monday that the operation in Kirkuk was necessary to "protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition" because of the referendum.
"We call upon all citizens to co-operate with our heroic armed forces, which are committed to our strict directives to protect civilians in the first place, and to impose security and order, and to protect state installations and institutions," he added.
On Monday, the Iraqi military said its units had taken control of the K1 military base, the Baba Gurgur oil and gas field, and a state-owned oil company's offices.
The government in Baghdad said the Peshmerga had withdrawn "without fighting". However, clashes were reported to the south, and the sound of gunfire was caught by a BBC cameraman as a team filmed near a checkpoint.
By afternoon, as thousands of people fled the city fearing impending clashes between the two sides, Iraqi military vehicles were rolling into the heart of Kirkuk. A picture shared on social media appeared to show Iraqi forces sitting in the governor's office.
Forces pulled down the Kurdish f**g which had been flying alongside the national f**g, according to Reuters.
Mr Abadi had ordered the Iraqi f**g to fly over all disputed territories.
The speed with which Iraqi forces reached the centre of the city has led the two main armed Kurdish parties to accuse the other of "betrayal".
The Peshmerga General Command, which is led by President Massoud Barzani of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), accused officials from Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of aiding " the plot against the people of Kurdistan".
But the PUK have denied being part of ordering any withdrawal, saying dozens of their fighters had been k**led and hurt, but noted "not even one KDP Peshmerga has been martyred as of yet in the fighting in Kirkuk".
Meanwhile Turkey, which fears Kurdish independence in Iraq could lead to similar calls from its own Kurdish minority, praised Baghdad, saying it was "ready for any form of co-operation with the Iraqi government in order to end the PKK presence in Iraqi territory".
The PKK - or Kurdistan Workers' Party - is a Turkish-Kurdish rebel group which has been fighting for autonomy since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey as well as by the EU and US.
Why is Kirkuk at the heart of this Kurdish crisis?
Kirkuk is an oil-rich province claimed by both the Kurds and the central government. It is thought to have a Kurdish majority, but its provincial capital has large Arab and Turkmen populations.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of much of the province in 2014, when Islamic State (IS) militants swept across northern Iraq and the Iraq army collapsed.
The Iraqi parliament asked Mr Abadi to deploy troops to Kirkuk and other disputed areas after the referendum result was announced, but he said last week that he would accept them being governed by a "joint administration" and that he did not want an armed confrontation.
On Sunday, however, his cabinet accused the KRG of deploying non-Peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk, including members of the PKK, which it said was tantamount to a "declaration of war". But KRG officials have denied this.
#BREAKING: Iraqi forces are inside the office of Najmaldin Karim, governor of #Kirkuk city. #KurdistanBlockade
10:56 AM - Oct 16, 2017
Where do the Kurds come from?
The Kurds are an ethnic group originating from the Middle East who claim the ancestry of the Biblical Medes of Media, an ancient country of northwestern Iran, generally corresponding to the modern regions of Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and parts of Kermanshahan; known to be fierce warriors whose land of Media was combined with ancient Persia by King Cyrus the Great (598-600 BC).
Between 25 and 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. They make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, but they have never, in modernity, obtained a permanent nation state.
In the early 20th Century, many Kurds began to consider the creation of a homeland - generally referred to as "Kurdistan". After World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres.
Such hopes were dashed three years later, however, when the Treaty of Lausanne, which set the boundaries of modern Turkey, made no provision for a Kurdish state and left Kurds with minority status in their respective countries. Over the next 80 years, any move by Kurds to set up an independent state was brutally quashed.
In recent decades, Kurds have increasingly influenced regional developments, fighting for autonomy in Turkey and playing prominent roles in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, where they have resisted the advance of the so-called Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
In mid-2013, IS turned its sights on three Kurdish enclaves that bordered its territory in northern Syria. It launched repeated attacks that until mid-2014 were repelled by the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Unity Party. The turning point was an offensive in Iraq in June 2014 that saw IS overrun the northern city of Mosul, routing Iraqi army divisions and seizing weaponry later moved to Syria.
The jihadists' advance in Iraq also drew that country's Kurds into the conflict. The government of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region sent its Peshmerga forces to areas abandoned by the army.
In January 2015, after a battle that left at least 1,600 people dead and more than 3,200 buildings destroyed or damaged, Kurdish forces regained control of Kobane.
Since then, the Kurds have inflicted a series of defeats on IS in northern Syria with the help of US-led coalition airpower. They have established control over a 400km (250-mile) stretch of contiguous territory along the Turkish border and advanced upon the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
Fighting under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces, they have emerged as a key ally of the US-led coalition, which considers it one of the few effective partners on the ground in Syria.
The Kurds are now one of the indigenous people of the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands in what is now south-eastern Turkey, north-eastern Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran and south-western Armenia, and are predominately Sunni Muslims, speaking a distinct language and sharing a singular cultural identity despite being scattered across four countries.
For centuries, the Kurds have been the largest stateless ethnic group (currently 30 million) in the Middle East, living under various empires and despots where they have faced discrimination and oppression while being denied the right to enjoy their unique and ancient culture.
Sadly, not a single country (with the exception of Israel) expressed its support for the Kurds’ historic decision to finally realize their centuries-old dream of establishing a state of their own. Although the passage of the referendum did not automatically lead to statehood, it represented a crucial step forward that should have opened the door for negotiations with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad to reach an agreement.
Does God yet have a future role for this most ancient of people whom He has preserved?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41641563
Iraqi forces enter Kirkuk as Kurds flee
1 hour ago
From the section Middle East
Breaking from Twitter:
#BREAKING: Iraqi forces are inside the office of Najmaldin Karim, governor of #Kirkuk city. #KurdistanBlockade
10:56 AM - Oct 16, 2017
Iraqi government forces have entered central Kirkuk after taking key installations outside the disputed city from Kurdish fighters.
Thousands of people fled the city ahead of the Iraqi advance.
The Iraqi military moved into Kirkuk three weeks after the Kurdistan Region held a controversial independence referendum.
They are aiming to retake areas under Kurdish control since Islamic State militants swept through the region.
Residents of Kurdish-controlled areas, including Kirkuk, overwhelmingly backed secession from Iraq in a 25 September v**e.
While Kirkuk is outside Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish v**ers in the city were allowed to take part.
Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, had denounced the v**e as unconstitutional. But the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) insisted it was legitimate.
US officials said they were "engaged with all parties in Iraq to de-escalate tension"
Mr Abadi said in a statement on Monday that the operation in Kirkuk was necessary to "protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition" because of the referendum.
"We call upon all citizens to co-operate with our heroic armed forces, which are committed to our strict directives to protect civilians in the first place, and to impose security and order, and to protect state installations and institutions," he added.
On Monday, the Iraqi military said its units had taken control of the K1 military base, the Baba Gurgur oil and gas field, and a state-owned oil company's offices.
The government in Baghdad said the Peshmerga had withdrawn "without fighting". However, clashes were reported to the south, and the sound of gunfire was caught by a BBC cameraman as a team filmed near a checkpoint.
By afternoon, as thousands of people fled the city fearing impending clashes between the two sides, Iraqi military vehicles were rolling into the heart of Kirkuk. A picture shared on social media appeared to show Iraqi forces sitting in the governor's office.
Forces pulled down the Kurdish f**g which had been flying alongside the national f**g, according to Reuters.
Mr Abadi had ordered the Iraqi f**g to fly over all disputed territories.
The speed with which Iraqi forces reached the centre of the city has led the two main armed Kurdish parties to accuse the other of "betrayal".
The Peshmerga General Command, which is led by President Massoud Barzani of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), accused officials from Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of aiding " the plot against the people of Kurdistan".
But the PUK have denied being part of ordering any withdrawal, saying dozens of their fighters had been k**led and hurt, but noted "not even one KDP Peshmerga has been martyred as of yet in the fighting in Kirkuk".
Meanwhile Turkey, which fears Kurdish independence in Iraq could lead to similar calls from its own Kurdish minority, praised Baghdad, saying it was "ready for any form of co-operation with the Iraqi government in order to end the PKK presence in Iraqi territory".
The PKK - or Kurdistan Workers' Party - is a Turkish-Kurdish rebel group which has been fighting for autonomy since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey as well as by the EU and US.
Why is Kirkuk at the heart of this Kurdish crisis?
Kirkuk is an oil-rich province claimed by both the Kurds and the central government. It is thought to have a Kurdish majority, but its provincial capital has large Arab and Turkmen populations.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of much of the province in 2014, when Islamic State (IS) militants swept across northern Iraq and the Iraq army collapsed.
The Iraqi parliament asked Mr Abadi to deploy troops to Kirkuk and other disputed areas after the referendum result was announced, but he said last week that he would accept them being governed by a "joint administration" and that he did not want an armed confrontation.
On Sunday, however, his cabinet accused the KRG of deploying non-Peshmerga fighters in Kirkuk, including members of the PKK, which it said was tantamount to a "declaration of war". But KRG officials have denied this.
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