IRBIL, Iraq: Parliament in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region decided Tuesday to hold legislative elections in eight months after they were delayed amid tensions over disputed territory with the central government in Baghdad.
Simultaneous legislative and presidential elections in the Kurdish region had been due to take place on November 1 but were delayed. There was no immediate word on a date for a new presidential election.
The elections would have taken place just over a month after a September 25 referendum in the Kurdish areas resulted in a massive “yes” for independence.
The referendum, set in motion by long-time regional leader Masoud Barzani, was strongly opposed by Baghdad.
Iraqi forces last week swept into the oil-rich Kirkuk province in the north, restoring it and Kurdish-held parts of Nineveh and Diyala provinces to the control of the central government.
The rapid Kurdish retreat triggered recriminations among Kurdish politicians and prompted the regional parliament to postpone both elections.
On Sunday, Iraqi Kurdistan’s main opposition party called for Barzani to step down after the loss of Kurdish-controlled territory.
Shoresh Hajji of the Goran movement, which holds 24 out of 111 seats in the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament, said both Barzani and his deputy Kosrat Rasul should quit.
“The Kurdistan region’s president and his deputy no longer have any legitimacy and should resign,” he said.
Hajji called for the creation of a “national salvation government” to prepare for dialogue with Baghdad and organize new elections.
A month after scoring a major victory in the independence referendum, Barzani now finds himself isolated both at home and abroad.
The United States, a key ally of both Baghdad and Kurdish forces in the battle against the Daesh group, opposed the non-binding referendum, as did nations including Iraq’s neighbors Iran and Turkey.
Iraqi Kurd parliament postpones elections for 8 months
Iraqi Kurd parliament postpones elections for 8 months
Lebanon’s government approves a deal to transfer Syrian prisoners back to Syria
- Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides
- A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Cabinet on Friday approved an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Lebanon back to their home country.
The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighboring countries seek to recalibrate their relations following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led insurgents in December 2024. Former insurgent leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa is now Syria’s interim president.
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah when it entered Syria’s civil war in defense of Assad’s government.
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately.
The deal approved Friday appeared to resolve that tension. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad’s rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters after the Cabinet meeting that about 300 prisoners would be transferred as a result of the agreement.
Protesters gathered in a square below the government palace in downtown Beirut ahead of the Cabinet vote to call for amnesty for Lebanese prisoners, including some who joined militant groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni cleric Ahmad Al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in 2013 clashes that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.
“The state found solutions for the Syrian youth who are heroes and belong to the Syrian revolution who have been imprisoned for 12 years,” said protester Khaled Al- Bobbo. “But in the same files there are also Lebanese detainees. ... We demand that just as they found solutions for the Syrians, they must also find solutions for the people of this country.”
