Kurdistan

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Hunt Oil Signs Kurdish Deal, Slights Baghdad

Company will explore in northern Iraq without central approval

(Newser) - Dallas-based Hunt Oil  has signed a deal to prospect for oil in in the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan. Hunt is the latest of several small oil companies bypassing Baghdad to deal directly with regional authorities, underscoring Kurdistan's increasing independence from the Iraqi central government, which has been unable to...

'Chemical Ali' Will Hang
'Chemical Ali' Will Hang

'Chemical Ali' Will Hang

Court confirms death sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity

(Newser) - An Iraqi court confirmed a death sentence today for "Chemical Ali," who was condemned to hang in June for genocide and crimes against humanity. Ali Hassan al-Majid and two other top lieutenants to Saddam Hussein were found guilty of the killing of thousands of Kurds in the Anfal...

Iran Attacks Kurdish Villages in Northern Iraq

Revolutionary Guard shells moutain settlements

(Newser) - Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which the Bush administration is about to declare a terrorist organization, have been shelling mountain villages in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq for several days. The fighting near the border involves thousands of Guards and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Free Life Party, which is  stepping up...

Turkish Elections Boost PM
Turkish Elections
Boost PM

Turkish Elections Boost PM

Islamist-rooted, pro-EU ruling party sees mandate in results

(Newser) - Turkey’s ruling party dominated parliamentary elections today despite its perceived threat to the nation’s entrenched secularism. The elections were moved up after the secular opposition foiled PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to install an ex-Islamist ally as president. The results, seen as a mandate for the AKP, also...

Turks, Kurds in Tense Standoff at Iraqi Border

Both sides want US support in dispute over separatist insurgents

(Newser) - As the Turkish military continued its aggressive saber-rattling along the border with Iraq this week, the US finds itself in a tough spot. The Turks want a green light to go after Kurdish separatist guerrillas hiding in northern Iraq; the Kurds want protection. “Now the U.S. has to...

Turkey Menaces Kurds
Turkey Menaces Kurds

Turkey Menaces Kurds

Buildup along border makes U.S., Iraq nervous

(Newser) - Turkish troops and tanks amassing along the border with Iraq are ready to go after Kurdish separatist guerrillas as soon as they get the order, the country's top general said yesterday. The US, Iraq and the EU are all urging Turkey not to launch the offensive, which could destabilize Northern...

Turks Finger Kurds Over Bombing
Turks Finger Kurds Over Bombing

Turks Finger Kurds Over Bombing

Iraq-based separatist group blamed, boosting tensions

(Newser) - Turkish authorities identified the suicide bomber in Tuesday's Ankara bombing yesterday, and pointed the finger at the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group headquartered in northern iraq. The Financial Times reports  the bombing  has renewed calls for Turkey to attack guerrilla bases in Kurdistan, a move which would have serious repercussions...

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital
Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Ankara attack may prompt move against Kurdish militants on Iraqi border

(Newser) - An explosion shocked the Turkish capital yesterday, killing six and injuring at least 100 in a busy marketplace. The bombing comes at a delicate time for the country, the New York Times observes, as Parliament clash with the governing party over the place of Islam in the secular democracy.

Cheney Drops In On Baghdad
Cheney Drops In On Baghdad

Cheney Drops In On Baghdad

VP meets with brass, government, as attacks spread to Kurdistan

(Newser) - Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Baghdad this morning, hours after the White House alerted 35,000 more troops of impending deployment to the fractious capital. Cheney met with top general David Petraeus and top envoy Ryan Crocker, and is expected to consult with PM Maliki and...

Middle East Solution? Ignore It
Middle East Solution? Ignore It

Middle East Solution? Ignore It

The only option: "backward societies must be left alone"

(Newser) - As experts scramble to respond to escalating crises in the Middle East, think-tanker Edward Luttwack has a novel solution—leave 'em be. The strategic implications of the Arab-Israeli crisis ended with the Cold War, he argues, and local regimes don't control oil supplies—oil companies do.

Democracy Depends on Kurdistan
Democracy Depends on Kurdistan

Democracy Depends on Kurdistan

Human-rights activist sees region as harbinger of Iraq's fate

(Newser) - While the U.S. focuses on Baghdad, a potentially defining crisis is developing in Kurdistan, according to Mark Lattimer, director of Minority Rights Group International. He argues in the Guardian that bloodshed in the only relatively secure region of Iraq is increasing as Kurds forced out of Kirkuk by Saddam...

The Uncontainable Kurds
The Uncontainable Kurds

The Uncontainable Kurds

(Newser) - Tehran resident and frequent commentator on Iran, Christopher de Bellaigue, travels west to Turkey to examine the status of Kurds in Turkey. He describes how some have become the fully assimilated Turks that the government so much wanted them to become; but that many have maintained a separate ethnic and...

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