I/III. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/16/iraq-air-strikes-target-islamic-state-fighters-near-key-dam US confirms Iraq air strikes on Isis fighters near key Mosul dam
* Planes and drones carry out nine strikes * Reports of massacre of dozens of Yazidi men * Iraqi anger at US failure to defend Baghdad <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/16/iraq-anger-us-air-force-defends-irbil-not-iraq-kurds-maliki> * 'The Iraq that we knew no longer exists' <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/jay-garner-occupation-iraq-no-longer-exists> - Guardian staff and Associated Press in Irbil, Iraq - theguardian.com <http://www.theguardian.com/>, Saturday 16 August 2014 23.17 BST The Mosul dam on the Tigris River, around 50km north of Mosul, northern Iraq. Photograph: STR/EPA The US confirmed on Saturday evening that its planes and drones had carried out air strikes against Islamic State (Isis) fighters in the area around Iraq's crucial Mosul dam. A statement from US Central Command said: "US military forces continued to attack [Isis] terrorists in Iraq Saturday, with a mix of fighter and remotely piloted aircraft successfully conducting airstrikes near Irbil and the Mosul dam. "US Central Command conducted these strikes under authority to support humanitarian efforts in Iraq, as well as to protect US personnel and facilities. "The nine airstrikes conducted thus far destroyed or damaged four armoured personnel carriers, seven armed vehicles, two Humvees and an armored vehicle. All aircraft exited the strike areas safely." Earlier, residents living near the Mosul dam told the Associated Press the area was being targeted by air strikes. Isis seized the dam on the Tigris river on 7 August, leading to fears they could engineer a huge and catastrophic flood. Residents, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect their safety, said the air strikes killed militants, but that could not immediately be confirmed. Officials and eyewitnesses also said on Saturday that extremists had killed 80 Yazidi men and abducted their wives and children. The news came on the same day the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Isis fighters had executed 700 members of a tribe it has been battling in eastern Syria. The US began launching airstrikes <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/us-begins-air-strikes-iraq-isis> against Isis fighters a week ago, in part to prevent the massacre of tens of thousands of Yazidis, members of a religious minority, who were stranded on Mount Sinjar. After most were able to escape <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/10/iraq-yazidi-isis-jihadists-islamic-state-kurds>, with the help of Kurdish fighters, President Barack Obama on Thursday took credit for alleviating the threat of genocide <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/14/obama-us-discontinue-airdrops-iraq> . But on Friday afternoon Isis fighters who had surrounded the nearby village of Kocho 12 days ago, demanding its Yazidi residents convert or die, moved in. The militants took the men away in groups of a few dozen and shot them dead with assault rifles on the edge of the village, according to a wounded man who escaped by feigning death. The fighters then walked among the bodies, finishing off any who appeared to still be alive with their pistols, the 42-year-old man told the Associated Press by phone from an area where he was hiding. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his safety. "They thought we were dead, and when they went away, we ran away. We hid in a valley until sundown, and then we fled to the mountains," he said. A Yazidi lawmaker, a Kurdish security official and an Iraqi official from the nearby city of Sinjar gave similar accounts, saying Isis fighters had massacred scores of Yazidi men on Friday afternoon after seizing Kocho. All said they based their information on the accounts of survivors and warned that the minority group remained in danger despite the US intervention. Their accounts matched those of two other Yazidi men, Qassim Hussein and Nayef Jassem, who said they spoke to other survivors. Yazidi lawmaker Mahma Khalil said the Yazidis in Kocho were given the choice to convert or die. "When the residents refused to do this, the massacre took place," he said. Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman for Kurdish security forces, said the militants took the women and children of Kocho to the nearby city of Tal Afar, which is controlled by the Isis group. Tens of thousands of Yazidis fled when Isis fighters earlier this month captured the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, near the Syrian border. The plight of the Yazidis prompted US, Iraqi and international forces to launch aid drops. It also contributed to the US decision to launch air strikes against the militants, who were advancing on the Kurdish regional capital, Irbil. Most of those Yazidis were eventually able to escape to Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region with the help of Kurdish fighters, and on Thursday Obama said Americans should be proud of the US efforts to save them. "We broke the [Isis] siege of Mount Sinjar, we helped vulnerable people reach safety and we helped save many innocent lives." Obama said, speaking from his vacation spot in Edgartown, Massachusetts. The decision to launch air strikes marked the first direct US military intervention in Iraq since the last troops withdrew in 2011, and reflected growing international concern about the extremist group. On Saturday, Britain's Ministry of Defence said it deployed a US-made spy plane over northern Iraq to monitor the humanitarian crisis and movements of militants. It said the converted Boeing KC-135 tanker, called a Rivet Joint, would monitor mobile phone calls and other communications. Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was in Baghdad on Saturday, where he announced his government would provide more than $32.2m in humanitarian aid to Iraq. "The first German air force planes are flying to Irbil at this moment to deliver humanitarian aid," Steinmeier said in a joint press conference with Iraq's acting foreign minister, Hussein Shahristani. "In the current situation where minorities, especially in northern Iraq, are expelled and murdered, where children are orphaned and women are enslaved, humanitarian aid is extremely important." Two British planes also landed on Saturday in the Kurdish regional capital Irbil carrying humanitarian supplies. But Khalil, the Yazidi lawmaker, said the US must do more to protect those fleeing the Isis fighters. "We have been calling on the US administration and Iraqi government to intervene and help the innocent people, but it seems that nobody is listening," Khalil said. II/III. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-15/maliki-opens-way-to-new-iraq-cabinet-as-militants-rampage.html Iraq Leader-in-Waiting Calls for Unity Against Insurgents By Nadeem Hamid, Glen Carey and Zaid Sabah Aug 16, 2014 2:36 PM GMT+0530 Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri-al Maliki agreed to leave office, paving the way for the formation of a less divisive government better able to battle Islamists whose advance threatens to tear OPEC's No. 2 producer apart. "Foreign Affairs" Editor Gideon Rose speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg) Iraq <http://topics.bloomberg.com/iraq/>'s leader-in-waiting Haidar al-Abadi vowed to fight graft and build an inclusive government to counter a spreading Islamist insurgency in his first comments since ending a dispute over who will lead the country. Poised to replace caretaker Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Abadi won backing from Iraq's top Shiite cleric, while Massoud Barzani <http://topics.bloomberg.com/massoud-barzani/>, president of the largely autonomous Kurdish region, said he'd support the premier-designate in a call for a government that "involves all Iraqi factions," state-run National Iraqi News Agency reported. With the European Union agreeing yesterday to increase humanitarian aid to Iraq after some members joined the U.S. in aiding Kurdish forces stop the military advance of Islamist insurgents in the country's north, Abadi said he will seek to "accommodate segments of the Iraqi people and unite them to eliminate terrorism," Al-Mada news reported on its website. Minority Sunnis accuse Maliki of alienating their community and some are backing militants who declared the formation of the Islamic State after an offensive in June. Sunnis want a "Prime Minister that makes them feel that he is different from Maliki by making new policy based on justice, equality and law enforcement <http://topics.bloomberg.com/law-enforcement/> in an equal way for all Iraqis," Hamed Al-Mutlaq, a Sunni lawmaker, said by phone. "If Sunnis feel that Abadi's policies are just, there will be no presence for the Islamic State." Crumbling Support Maliki was abandoned by his own party and leaders of Iraq's minorities, who said his eight years of sectarian policies widened ethnic divisions in Iraq. He quit Aug. 14 as his backing at home and abroad crumbled, saying the change of leadership gave a chance to halt Iraq's descent into violence. As Maliki fought for weeks for the right to a third term after inconclusive elections, Sunni Islamic State forces pushed into new areas of northern Iraq, seizing towns and oil fields and driving thousands of ethnic Yezidis and Christians from their homes. The chaos loosened Maliki's grip on power, as past allies blamed him for a stalemate that exacerbated the advance by militants. In a sign of the challenge facing Maliki's successor, the head of an influential Sunni tribe in western Iraq, Rafei Mishen al-Jumaily, said that he would continue to support the Islamic State against the government, which would be "wasting its time" if it made peace overtures. "We will continue to fight the government until the end and we promise we will liberate Baghdad <http://topics.bloomberg.com/baghdad/>," Jumaily said by phone yesterday. Air Strikes Recognizing the threat posed by the insurgents both to Iraq's territorial integrity and its neighbors, the U.S. began a series of air strikes on Islamic State fighters. At a meeting in Brussels, EU foreign ministers expressed support for member states that have decided to send arms to Kurdish forces battling to take back territory overrun by the militants. Under the constitution, Abadi has until mid-September to form a cabinet. He'll have to break with Maliki's brand of Shiite-dominated politics if he's to succeed and hand real power to rival groups, according to analysts. "All the power is still concentrated with the prime minister," Mustafa Alani <http://topics.bloomberg.com/mustafa-alani/>, an analyst at the Geneva-based Gulf Research Center, said by telephone yesterday. "Without reforming the political system, it will only be a temporary solution to the country's problems. The other ministers -- whether Kurdish or Sunni -- have no power. This has to change." Iraq's 2028 bonds gained the most since April after Maliki's resignation, with yields on the securities dropping 23 basis points, or 0.23 percentage point, to 6.92 percent. Oil Concerns Instability since militants took the northern city of Mosul, along with its strategic dam, from early June and political deadlock in Baghdad has raised concerns that output at OPEC's No. 2 oil producer would be disrupted. Abadi's nomination has had the unusual effect of drawing support both from the U.S. and from Iran <http://topics.bloomberg.com/iran/>, which has major influence over its neighbor Iraq's Shiites and funds several Shiite militia groups. The EU and the Arab League <http://topics.bloomberg.com/arab-league/> have also backed Abadi's appointment. "Iraq must see a smooth transition of power," U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The U.K. hopes that Maliki's decision to leave office "will contribute to the quick formation of a unified and inclusive government that can address the serious security, humanitarian and political challenges that Iraq faces." Military Support U.S. President Barack Obama <http://topics.bloomberg.com/barack-obama/>, who ordered the air strikes last week and has said he'd be more inclined to increase military support to Iraqi forces once there's a new government, should do so quickly now, said two of his most vocal critics. "This should remove any reason for the Obama administration to delay any further in providing our full support to Iraqis and Syrians who are fighting," Islamic State, said Senators John McCain <http://topics.bloomberg.com/john-mccain/> of Arizona <http://topics.bloomberg.com/arizona/> and Lindsey Graham <http://topics.bloomberg.com/lindsey-graham/> of South Carolina <http://topics.bloomberg.com/south-carolina/>, Republicans who accuse Obama of not doing enough. The United Nations Security Council <http://topics.bloomberg.com/united-nations-security-council/> anonymously [read: unanimously] adopted a resolution yesterday that placed asset and travel bans on six individuals it said were members of the Islamic State and the Al-Nusrah Front, which has been active in Syria <http://topics.bloomberg.com/syria/>. France <http://topics.bloomberg.com/france/> has preempted an EU-wide agreement and started delivering weapons to Kurdish forces. The U.K., Germany and Italy <http://topics.bloomberg.com/italy/> have indicated they may follow, while Czech officials are in talks with the government in Baghdad and with Kurdish authorities on supplies of ammunition from the Czech military and light firearms from Czech producers, the Prague-based Foreign Ministry said in response to e-mailed questions. To contact the reporters on this story: Nadeem Hamid in Washington at [email protected]; Glen Carey in Riyadh at [email protected]; Zaid Sabah in Washington at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at [email protected]; Jack Fairweather at [email protected]; Justin Blum at [email protected] Hilton Shone III. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930526000211 Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:8 *Iran Hails Democratic Transition of Power in Iraq* TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham voiced Tehran's full support for the peaceful and democratic transition of political power in Iraq, and called on the country's political parties and figures to grow more united to foil the divisive plots hatched by the enemies to create rift among them. Afkham extolled the role adopted by Iraqi religious leaders, prominent figures, and political parties in power transition. She also called on all Iraqi factions to help the political transition prevail and "play an influential and constructive role in accelerating the process of the Iraqi government formation." Afkham expressed hope that efforts by the Iraqi nation and state would result in extermination of terrorism in the country. On Friday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian underlined that establishment of a democratic and strong government in Iraq is to the benefit of entire region, saying that is why Iran has voiced full support for Iraq's new government in its fight against terrorism. Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the decision of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to give up his candidature and support his rival Haidar al-Abadi as nominee to succeed him. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
