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Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm
Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm

France 24

time22-07-2025

  • Politics
  • France 24

Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm

"We've been coming here for a long time. Thirty years ago we used to come and go, but then we couldn't come. Now we just started to come again and to bring our animals as we want," said 57-year-old Selahattin Irinc, speaking Kurdish, while gently pressing his hand on a sheep's neck to keep it from moving during shearing. On July 11 a symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics -- part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and much of the international community, was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation. It took up arms in 1984. The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Alongside with several other men and women, Irinc practices animal husbandry in the grassy highlands at the foot of the Cilo Mountains and its Resko peak, which stands as the second-highest in the country with an altitude of 4,137 meters (13,572 feet). A place of scenic beauty, with waterfalls, glacial lakes and trekking routes, Cilo has gradually opened its roads over the past few years to shepherds and tourists alike as the armed conflict with PKK died down on the backdrop of peace negotiations. But the picturesque mountains had long been the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters who took advantage of the rough terrain to hide and strike. It left the Kurdish farmers often at odds with the army. "In the past we always had problems with the Turkish soldiers. They accused us of helping PKK fighters by feeding them things like milk and meat from our herd," another Kurdish livestock owner, who asked not to be named, told AFP, rejecting such claims. "Now it's calmer," he added. 'Last generation' Although the peace process brought more openness and ease to the region, tensions did not vanish overnight. Checkpoints remain present around the city of Hakkari, and also to the main access point to the trekking path leading to Cilo glacier, a major tourist attraction. "Life is quite good and it's very beautiful here. Tourists come and stay in the mountains for one or two days with their tents, food, water and so on," said farmer Mahir Irinc. But the mountains are a hard, demanding environment for those making a living in their imposing shadow, and the 37-year-old thinks his generation might be the last to do animal husbandry far away from the city. "I don't think a new generation will come after us. We will be happy if it does, but the young people nowadays don't want to raise animals, they just do whatever job is easier," he lamented. An open truck carrying more than a dozen Kurdish women made its way to another farm in the heart of the mountains, where sheep waited to be fed and milked. The livestock graze at the foot of the mountains for three to four months, while the weather is warm, before being brought back to the village. "We all work here. Mothers, sisters, our whole family. Normally I'm preparing for university, but today I was forced to come because my mother is sick," explained 22-year-old Hicran Denis. "I told my mother: don't do this anymore, because it's so tiring. But when you live in a village, livestock is the only work. There's nothing else," she said. © 2025 AFP

Oil edges higher after EU new sanctions on Russia
Oil edges higher after EU new sanctions on Russia

Reuters

time18-07-2025

  • Business
  • Reuters

Oil edges higher after EU new sanctions on Russia

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Friday, heading for a small weekly loss, as investors weighed new European Union sanctions against Russia. Brent crude futures climbed 50 cents, or 0.72%, to $70.02 a barrel as of 0912 GMT, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 61 cents, or 0.9%, to $68.15 a barrel. At those levels, the contracts were headed for a marginal weekly loss of 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. Investors mulled the potential impact on global oil balances of the EU's agreement on an 18th sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, which includes measures aimed at dealing further blows to Russia's oil and energy industries. Its latest sanctions package will lower the G7's price cap for buying Russian crude oil to $47.6 per barrel, diplomats told Reuters. "Neither the price cap for Russian oil nor adding shadow fleet tankers on a sanction list managed to disrupt Russian oil exports so far, so the market remains sceptical of the impact of the latest sanctions," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Investors are awaiting news from the U.S. on possible further sanctions, after President Donald Trump earlier this week threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Moscow agrees a peace deal in 50 days. "Ultimately, it is now a matter of waiting for possible major changes in U.S. sanctions and tariff policy," Commerzbank analysts said in a note. Four days of drone attacks on oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan that shut down half the region's output have supported prices, pushing both contracts up by $1 on Thursday. The attacks "are bound to take their toll as the region's output has been slashed from 280,000 bpd to around 130,000 barrels per day," said PVM analyst Tamas Varga. Officials pointed to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of attacks this week on the region's oilfields, although no group has claimed responsibility. Despite the attack, Iraq's federal government said on Thursday that Iraqi Kurdistan will resume oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey after a two-year halt.

The Air Defenses Iraqi Kurdistan Can Realistically Hope To Receive
The Air Defenses Iraqi Kurdistan Can Realistically Hope To Receive

Forbes

time15-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Forbes

The Air Defenses Iraqi Kurdistan Can Realistically Hope To Receive

A Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) system firing. Iraqi Kurdistan has once again found its territory, including its oilfields and main international airport in the capital, Erbil, targeted by explosive drones. These attacks again underscore the autonomous region's urgent need for air defense systems, which the United States has pledged to supply. However, it remains unclear what specific systems, if any, Erbil may ultimately receive. At 2:30 am local time Monday morning, an explosive drone was successfully intercepted near Erbil International Airport, according to a statement from Iraqi Kurdistan's Directorate General of Counter Terrorism. The interception did not cause casualties or material damage, the CTD statement added. Later the same. day, another drone attack damaged water pipelines at the Khurmala oilfield southwest of Erbil. Yet another drone attack targeting Iraqi Kurdistan's Sarsang oilfield resulted in a halt in production on Tuesday morning. These incidents mark the latest of several drone attacks carried out across Iraqi Kurdistan since the end of the 12-day Israel-Iran War in June. For example, CTD announced another attempted drone strike against Erbil airport on July 3, also intercepted swiftly without any casualties or damage, only temporarily delaying a single landing aircraft. Earlier that day, another drone crashed near the airport in Kirkuk, which was previously hit four days earlier with rockets in another unclaimed attack. The United States has a troop base on the grounds of Erbil airport protected by a close-range Counter-Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar, C-RAM, system. The U.S. also deployed at least one MIM-104 Patriot system, which intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile headed for Israel during Iran's then-unprecedented April 13, 2024, ballistic missile and drone attack. Elsewhere in Iraqi Kurdistan, Kurdish forces intercepted an unidentified drone approaching another base hosting U.S.-led coalition forces in the eastern Sulaymaniyah province on July 10. Earlier in the month, another two drones were shot down over the province. An explosive drone also crashed into an internally displaced persons camp in Kurdistan's western Duhok province on July 1, sparking a fire but fortunately causing no casualties. That camp hosts Yazidis uprooted from their homes by the infamous August 2014 genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State group. The Kurdistan Regional Government has officially blamed Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces paramilitary for these attacks, an accusation Baghdad vehemently denies. Powerful Iran-backed elements in the PMF previously targeted U.S. bases in Iraqi Kurdistan with rockets and drones since 2020. Furthermore, uncovered debris from attacks on the Duhok camp, Sulaymaniyah, and Kirkuk matched components of Iranian-made Shahed-101 explosive drones. Since Congress passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision for equipping Iraqi Kurdistan's Peshmerga forces with air defenses, in December 2023, Erbil has hoped the U.S. will finally supply air defenses. Since Iraqi Kurdistan isn't an independent country, it cannot purchase such systems off the shelf like sovereign states can, and as Iraq is presently doing with its acquisition of advanced medium-range KM-SAM systems from South Korea. Consequently, Erbil finds itself dependent on America's goodwill, especially given Baghdad's consistent track record of not sharing any military hardware with Erbil. A provision of any air defenses would undoubtedly improve Erbil's almost non-existent surface-to-air capabilities against the present drone threat markedly. Nevertheless, there are most likely significant limits on what Washington will prove willing to provide. Alex Almeida, a security analyst at the energy consultancy Horizon Engage, doubts that high-end systems with anti-ballistic capabilities, such as the Patriot, will be on offer. Ditto for the NASAMS, a medium-range system that fires AIM-120 missiles. Almeida notes that Iraq will likely oppose any provision of such systems. Additionally, these systems are presently in high demand and short supply worldwide, especially the Patriots. The C-RAM destroys incoming rocket and drone threats like the ones Iraqi Kurdistan has intermittently faced throughout the past five years by firing its 20 mm high-explosive incendiary tracer, self-destruction, HEIT-SD, rounds in rapid succession. Almeida doubts Erbil will acquire any of these either. 'It's a fairly complex system that's only been exported to a limited number of countries,' he told me. 'The U.S. has also been hesitant about using the C-RAM systems it has in place at Erbil due to the airport's proximity to built-up areas, including numerous high-rise towers.' 'The Iraqi government has also been very sensitive about U.S. transfers of heavier weapons like large-caliber artillery to the KRG.' Iraqi officials strongly criticized a U.S. transfer of lightweight 105 mm M119 howitzers to Erbil for use by the Peshmerga in August 2024, with some calling for confiscating these weapons, underscoring Baghdad's sensitivities to Kurdish forces possessing even basic weapons. A more cost-effective provision for the U.S. may come in the form of the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System, or APKWS. The APKWS is an unguided Hydra 70 rocket converted into a precision-guided munition using a laser-guidance kit. It costs a little over $20,000 per unit and has proven effective against the types of drones continuously harassing Iraqi Kurdistan. The U.S. has adopted an air-to-air version for F-16 fighter jets and even the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft, as it is a fraction of the cost of countering drones compared to traditional air-to-air missiles. Saudi Arabia, which has also faced Iran-backed drone threats, recently ordered them for its air force. The APKWS could give Iraqi Kurdistan an independent and cost-effective solution against drone threats and may not provoke as strong a reaction from Baghdad as the transfer of more advanced systems undoubtedly would. 'Something like the ground-based APKWS that's a more basic and rugged system, or the Coyote counter-drone missile, is a more realistic option and would probably be equally effective and more suitable for use near urban environments,' Almeida said. 'Those combined with electronic jammers and hand-held systems are probably a better bet and would be sufficient to handle the militia drone threat to Iraqi Kurdistan.'

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