ERBIL, IRAQ: The United States has asked Iraq’s Kurds to postpone a referendum on the independence of their autonomous Kurdish region, planned for Sept. 25, the Kurdish presidency said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the request on Friday, during a phone call with the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani.
The US State Department said in June it was concerned that the referendum will distract from “more urgent priorities” such as the defeat of Daesh militants.
“On the issue of the postponement of the referendum, the President (Barzani) stated that the people of the Kurdistan Region would expect guarantees and alternatives for their future,” said the statement issued by the Kurdish presidency after Tillerson’s call, giving no further details on the Kurdish leader’s reaction to the US request.
The United States and other Western nations are concerned that the vote could turn into another regional flashpoint. Turkey, Iran and Syria, which together with Iraq have sizeable Kurdish populations, all oppose an independent Kurdistan.
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US asks Iraq Kurds to postpone referendum — Kurdistan Presidency
US asks Iraq Kurds to postpone referendum — Kurdistan Presidency
Israeli airstrikes kill 9 in Gaza, including tent camp, Palestinian officials say
- An Israeli military official said Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas ‘terrorists’
- Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in northern and southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian civil defense and health officials said.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south.
An Israeli military official said Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas “terrorists” in response to “a violation (on Saturday) in Beit Hanoun where terrorists emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line.”
The official called Sunday’s strikes “precise” and in line with international law, and said Hamas had committed more than six violations of an October ceasefire, including deploying east of the “Yellow Line” agreed under the ceasefire to demarcate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
On Saturday, the military said it had identified armed “terrorists” near IDF personnel operating in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said it continued to destroy underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip in accordance with the agreement.
It said it observed several gunmen emerging from what it said was a tunnel and entering beneath the rubble of a building east of the Yellow Line.
The military said Air Force aircraft had attacked the building and eliminated two gunmen and that it was likely that additional militants were eliminated in the strike.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began. Israel said four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south.
An Israeli military official said Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas “terrorists” in response to “a violation (on Saturday) in Beit Hanoun where terrorists emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line.”
The official called Sunday’s strikes “precise” and in line with international law, and said Hamas had committed more than six violations of an October ceasefire, including deploying east of the “Yellow Line” agreed under the ceasefire to demarcate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
On Saturday, the military said it had identified armed “terrorists” near IDF personnel operating in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said it continued to destroy underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip in accordance with the agreement.
It said it observed several gunmen emerging from what it said was a tunnel and entering beneath the rubble of a building east of the Yellow Line.
The military said Air Force aircraft had attacked the building and eliminated two gunmen and that it was likely that additional militants were eliminated in the strike.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began. Israel said four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
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