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Tuz Khurmatu territorial squabbles
 Iraqi special police take over PMF locations in Tuz Khurmatu: mayor Tuz Khurmatu (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi special police forces have taken over some locations held by the Popular Mobilization Forces in the restive area of Tuz Khurmatu, the town’s mayor was quoted saying on Monday. Ali al-Hussein told Alsumaria that "Rapid Response forces, today, took over duties delegated to the Popular Mobilization Forces which have been maintaining security in Tuz Khurmatu jointly with local police and the Iraqi army". He said the exchange came "as mobilization forces concluded their assignments". A home to a mixed Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen population, Tuz Khurmatu was among the disputed regions Iraqi forces seized back from Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces following a referendum the autonomous region held in September to secede from Iraq. Kurdish politicians have accused Iraqi forces, most notably the PMF, of carrying out forced deportations and inducing a demographic change in Tuz Khurmatu for the favor of Arab ethnicities. Kurdistan PM Nechirvan Barzani urged Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to investigate the reported violations. "Abadi claims that he is concerned with the people of the Kurdistan Region’s best interests, and I ask him, if you really are, why don’t you investigate what is happening in Tuz Khurmatu?, Barzani said in a recent speech. A week ago, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said its teams had observed signs of possible violations in Tuz Khurmatu, including destroyed homes and businesses in several primarily Kurdish neighbourhoods after Iraqi forces’ takeover in October. PMF spox accuses U.S. of evacuating White Flags militants to safe havens Salahuddin (Iraqinews.com) – A spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) has accused the United States of dispatching jet fighters to evacuate White Flags remnants from Tuz Khurmatu district in Salahuddin into safe havens. Speaking to Knooz Media on Monday, Ali al-Husseini, the PMF spokesman for the northern axis, said, “Kurdish residents have seen U.S. jet fighters landing behind a mountain chain in Tuz Khurmatu district and evacuating remnants of the White Flags group from there after the liberation of the district from this terrorist group.” Earlier, Husseini had announced the liberation of Tuz Khurmatu from the White Flags members, saying that Iraqi warplanes, backed by PMF artillery shells, managed to put an end to a threat posed by this terrorist group in the district. “A manhunt was launched in search for the remaining White Flags outlaws in areas surrounding Tuz Khurmatu,” he said, adding that the total elimination of this terrorist group will be announced soon. Last week, Spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command Brigadier General Yahya Rasool vowed to crush the recently-emerged White Flags group very soon. “The terrorist White Flags group does not pose a major threat to the security situation in Iraq since its members are estimated at dozens,” he said, adding that the Joint Operations Command has a complete database about the group and will launch an attack on it at the right time. Speaking about the White Flags’ main goal, Rasool said, “This unlawful group aims at fomenting sedition in Iraq through targeting innocent people in areas like Tuz Khurmatu to prove that terrorism still exists and was not defeated. Posted by: trailing wife 2018-01-02 |
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