„The international coalition forces had departed the base and the K1 base now is under full control of the Iraqi forces,“ the office said.
On the other side, a U.S.-led coalition spokesman said in a tweet that the troops departed the compound inside K1 airbase in coordination with the Iraqi government, asserting that the coalition troops will support Iraq from fewer places with fewer troops.
Iraq closed down yet another displacement camp where 450 families had been seeking shelter in the disputed province of Kirkuk, relocating them to camps that are still open or to other areas across the province.
Die Meldung klingt wie Satire: »In einem bemerkenswert friedlichen Prozess der Machtübertragung wählte das Kurdistan-Parlament Netschirwan Barsani zum neuen Präsidenten der Region Kurdistan«, twitterte die Demokratische Partei Kurdistans (KDP), deren Vizechef Barsani ist, am Mittwoch. Denn mitnichten fand in der kurdischen Autonomieregion im Nordirak ein Prozess statt, der den Namen Machtübertragung verdienen würde. Vielmehr wurden innerhalb der herrschenden Familie die Aufgaben umverteilt.
Diverse and disputed Kirkuk province is strategic. It is home to tremendous oil reserves, an airport, shares a border with Iran, and links several northern Iraqi provinces to the Kurdistan Region.
The United Nations mission in Iraq is equipped, ready, and willing to help resolve the problem of the disputed areas in Iraq, the head of the mission told Rudaw’s Majeed Gly in an exclusive interview at the UN headquarters in New York.
The United Nations has already begun preparatory steps and is talking with all the relevant parties – in Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaimani, and the civil society in Kirkuk, testing the waters, said Jan Kubis, special envoy of the Secretary-General to Iraq and head of the UN mission in Iraq (UNAMI).
Iraqi parliamentary elections will be held on May 12. Election campaigns will start on April 14 across Iraq, but will be delayed by one day in the Kurdistan Region, as the Region is going to commemorate the Anfal Campaign on April 14.
Iraqi and Kurdish entities will compete for 325 seats in parliament. Of this number, 43 seats are entitled to the Kurdistan Region and 13 for Kirkuk.