Japan Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Iraq’s Baghdad, Basra

Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takagi Kei visited Iraq's Baghdad and Basra from Nov. 1-4. (Supplied)

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Updated 07 November 2022

Arab News Japan

November 07, 2022 14:39

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Japan Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Iraq’s Baghdad, Basra

Takagi participated in the 46th Baghdad International Fair held for the first time in four years

Updated 07 November 2022

Arab News Japan

November 07, 2022 14:39

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DUBAI: Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takagi Kei visited Baghdad, the capital of the Republic of Iraq, and Basra Governorate in the south of the country from Nov. 1-4.

On Nov. 2, Takagi participated in the 46th Baghdad International Fair, which was held for the first time in four years. He delivered an opening speech and participated in the ribbon-cutting at the Japan Pavilion on “Japan Day.”

Many Iraqi guests, including Atheer Daoud, Minister of Commerce of the Republic of Iraq, and Hummam Ahmed AbdulJabbar, Dirctor General of the State Company for Iraqi Fairs and Commercial Services, attended the “Japan Day” event.

Takagi met with Mohammed Al-Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq, and exchanged views on the friendly bilateral relations and the regional situation.

During the meeting, Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister welcomed the fact that Iraq overcame the difficult political situation and formed the new government almost a year after the election of the Iraqi Council of Representative last October.

He also expressed his hopes that the new government would play an important role towards the stability in the Middle East region and economic reforms in Iraq.

In response, Prime Minister Al-Sudani expressed his gratitude for the support from Japan over the years and emphasized that the new government intends to strengthen the stability and safety of Iraq and promote economic reforms.

Takagi also met with Omar Al-Barazanchi, Undersecretary for Administrative, Technical and Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq and exchanged views on bilateral relations and cooperation between Japan and Iraq.

On Nov. 3, the Japanese official visited Basra Governorate in southern Iraq. He attended the completion ceremony of “Hartha Thermal Power Station Rehabilitation Project” and “Basrah Water Supply Improvement Project,” which are symbolic projects of Japan’s assistance to Iraq via ODA loans.

Takagi noted that Japan’s assistance has contributed to improving the lives of the Iraqi people and presented his compliments to the efforts of the people involved from both countries. Ziyad Fadhel, Minister of Electricity of Iraq, who participated in the ceremony of Hartha Thermal Power Station, expressed his appreciation for Japan’s assistance in providing the stable supply of electricity.

He also participated in the dinner hosted by Dargham Abdul Wahed, Second Deputy Governor of Basra, and exchanged views on activities of Japanese companies in Basra Governorate.

Japan’s Ambassador to Iraq Matsumoto Futoshi was part of Takagi’s delegation.

I met again Mr. Hayan Abdulghani, Oil Minister, in #Basra with Mr. Takagi, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, after a very fruitful meeting with the Minister of Oil in Baghdad only a few days ago. We explained the progress on our huge project of Basra Refinery! pic.twitter.com/xM1IeDqOWZ

— Futoshi Matsumoto (@JAPANAmbIRAQ) November 6, 2022

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Spiking violence strains sectarian ties in Iraqi province

Updated 55 min 40 sec ago

March 26, 2023 01:25

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Spiking violence strains sectarian ties in Iraqi province

The Iranian-backed Badr Organization, a state-sanctioned militia within the Popular Mobilization Forces with a political wing, wrested control of the province from Daesh in 2015

Updated 55 min 40 sec ago

March 26, 2023 01:25

MUQDADIYAH: Hussein Maytham and his family were driving past the palm tree grove near their home after a quiet evening shopping for toys for his younger cousins when their car hit a bomb planted on the moon-lit road.
“I only remember the explosion,” Maytham, 16, said weakly from his hospital bed, his pale arms speckled brown by shrapnel. The attack took place earlier this month in the Shiite-majority village of Hazanieh. The force of the blast hurled the teenager out of the vehicle, but his family — his parents, an aunt and three cousins — perished in the fiery carnage. Residents say gunmen hidden nearby in irrigation canals opened fire, killing two others.
This is the latest in a series of attacks witnessed over the last month in the central Iraqi province of Diyala, located north and east of Baghdad. Security officials say at least 19 civilians have been killed by unidentified assailants, including in two targeted attacks.
The violence is pitting communities against each other in the ethnically and religiously diverse province. It also raises questions whether the relative calm and stability that has prevailed in much of Iraq in the years since the defeat of Daesh can be sustained.
Iraq as a whole has moved on from the conditions that enabled the rise of Daesh and the large-scale bloody sectarian violence that erupted after the US-led invasion 20 years ago, according to Mohanad Adnan, a political analyst and partner at the Roya Development Group.
But some parts of the country, including Diyala, remain tense, with occasional waves of violence reopening old wounds. “There are a few villages, especially in Diyala, where they have not overcome what happened in the past,” said Adnan.
Officials, residents, and analysts say at least one instance of violence in Diyala appears to be a sectarian reprisal by Shiites against Sunnis over a Daesh-claimed attack. But they say other killings were carried out by Shiites against Shiites, as rival militias and their tribal and political allies that control the province struggle over influence and lucrative racketeering networks. Diyala, bordering both Iran and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, is a prime conduit for smuggling, including drugs.

HIGHLIGHT

The violence is pitting communities against each other in the ethnically and religiously diverse province. It also raises questions whether the relative calm and stability that has prevailed in much of Iraq in the years since the defeat of Daesh can be sustained.

The Iranian-backed Badr Organization, a state-sanctioned militia within the Popular Mobilization Forces with a political wing, wrested control of the province from Daesh in 2015. Since then, it has asserted its dominance over several Shiite political parties and their associated paramilitaries, as well as Sunni groups.
Although most Sunni residents displaced during the war against Daesh have returned to the province, they say they are often viewed with suspicion by authorities and neighbors due to their perceived affiliation with the extremists.
When remnants of the group stage attacks on civilians or security forces, it often prompts a spiral of retaliatory attacks.
In the Sunni village of Jalaylah, nine people, including women and children, were killed in a gruesome attack in late February, two months after they were blamed for allowing a Daesh attack on a neighboring village, according to security officials.
The attackers moved openly through the area, said villager Awadh Al-Azzawi. “They didn’t wear masks. Their faces were clear,” he said.
Residents accuse members of the nearby Shiite village Albu Bali, where Daesh killed nine in December, of carrying out the attack in revenge. They say the perpetrators belong to local militias using weapons given to them by the state. Security officials affiliated with the armed groups declined to comment.

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Topics: Iraq

5 killed in west Sudan tribal violence

Updated 26 March 2023

March 26, 2023 01:16

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5 killed in west Sudan tribal violence

The violence between African Masalit tribesmen and Arab shepherds in West Darfur erupted on Thursday after two armed assailants fatally shot a merchant in a remote area

Updated 26 March 2023

March 26, 2023 01:16

CAIRO: Two days of tribal violence in western Sudan’s long-troubled Darfur region killed at least 5 people, tribal leaders and a rights group said on Friday.
The violence between African Masalit tribesmen and Arab shepherds in West Darfur erupted on Thursday after two armed assailants fatally shot a merchant in a remote area, leaders from both groups said.
In a statement, Masalit tribesmen accused Arab militia of being behind the killing. The slaying sparked a series of targeted attacks that killed at least four more people, the tribal leaders and the rights group both said.
Five victims were later identified by the Darfur Bar Association, a Sudanese legal group focusing on human rights in the western province. The group called on both sides to de-escalate tensions.
The violence comes as wrangling cross-party talks continue in Khartoum over how the African country will usher in a civilian government following 17 months of military rule.
Sudan has been steeped in chaos after a military coup, led by the country’s top Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, removed a Western-backed government in October 2021, upending its short-lived transition to democracy.
But last December the country’s ruling military and various pro-democracy forces signed a preliminary agreement pledging to reinstate the transition.
Last week, signatories to December’s agreement vowed to begin establishing a new civilian-led transitional government April 11. However, many major political forces in the country remain opposed to the deal.
Since the military takeover, Sudan has also seen a spike in inter-tribal violence in the country’s west and south.
Analysts see the violence and growing insecurity in Sudan’s far-flung regions as a product of the power vacuum caused by the military takeover.
The Darfur crisis was sparked in 2003 by armed opposition groups who accused the central government of excluding their regions and people from wealth and power-sharing as well as development processes.
Over 2.7 million people have been displaced and are living in camps across Darfur. About 300,000 Darfuri refuges are now living in neighboring Chad.
The UN estimates that around 4.7 million people are still affected by the situation, denied basic human rights and relying on humanitarian aid.

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Topics: Sudan

Biden says US will ‘forcefully’ protect its personnel in Syria

Updated 26 March 2023

AFP

March 26, 2023 00:46

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Biden says US will ‘forcefully’ protect its personnel in Syria

Death toll in airstrikes rises to 19 — three regime soldiers, 16 members of Iran-backed forces
The US does not, does not seek conflict with Iran, but Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the US to act forcefully ‘to protect our people.’

Updated 26 March 2023

AP AFP

March 26, 2023 00:46

BEIRUT, OTTAWA: The death toll from retaliatory US strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria following a deadly drone attack has risen to 19, a war monitor said on Saturday.
President Joe Biden said that the US would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel.
Further rocket attacks by Iran-backed militias took place late on Friday, prompting more strikes by coalition warplanes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Washington carried out the initial strikes after the Pentagon said a US contractor died — and another contractor and five military personnel were wounded — by a drone “of Iranian origin” that struck a US-led coalition base near Hasakah in northeastern Syria on Thursday.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that, at President Joe Biden’s direction, he had ordered the “precision airstrikes ... in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
On Saturday, the Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground, said 19 people were killed in the first wave of US strikes — three Syrian regime soldiers and 16 members of Iran-backed forces, including 11 Syrian nationals. Hours after the strikes, 10 rockets were fired at American and coalition forces at the Green Village base in northeast Syria, the US Central Command said.
There were no injuries or damage to facilities at the base, but one rocket struck a home around five km away, causing minor wounds to two women and two children, CENTCOM added.
Iran-backed militias later on Friday targeted a base in the Conoco gas field, prompting retaliatory strikes from coalition warplanes on targets in Deir Ezzor city, the observatory said.
The war monitor said rocket fire then targeted coalition facilities at the Al-Omar oil field base and in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, “causing material damage.”
A “cautious calm” returned to the Deir Ezzor area in the early hours of Saturday morning, the observatory said.
The Pentagon said two F-15 fighters launched the retaliatory attack — which spokesman Pat Ryder said was to protect US personnel.
The strikes “were intended to send a very clear message that we will take the protection of our personnel seriously and that we will respond quickly and decisively if they are threatened,” he said.
They were “proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation to minimize casualties,” he said.
Two of the US service members wounded on Thursday were treated on site, while the three other troops and one US contractor were evacuated to Iraq, the Pentagon said.
“We will always take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” said CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla.
In January, the US military said three one-way attack drones were launched against the Al-Tanf garrison in Syria, with one breaching its air defenses and wounding two allied Syrian fighters. Last August, Biden ordered similar retaliatory strikes in Deir Ezzor province after several drones targeted a coalition outpost, without causing any casualties.
“We know that these groups are sponsored by Iran,” Ryder said.
“So Iran certainly plays a role in terms of ensuring that this type of activity doesn’t happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Biden said: “The United States does not, does not seek conflict with Iran,” Biden said in Ottawa, Canada, where he is on a state visit. But he said Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the US “to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.”
Biden, speaking during a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, expressed his “deepest condolences” to the family of the American killed and well-wishes for the injured.
US Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the top US commander for the Middle East, warned that its forces could carry out additional strikes if needed. “We are postured for scalable options in the face of any additional Iranian attacks,” Kurilla said in a statement.

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Topics: Syria US

Israel: 2 soldiers wounded in West Bank drive-by shooting

Updated 26 March 2023

March 25, 2023 22:03

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Israel: 2 soldiers wounded in West Bank drive-by shooting

The attack was the third to take place in the Palestinian town of Huwara in less than a month
One soldier was seriously wounded and the second was in moderate condition

Updated 26 March 2023

March 25, 2023 22:03

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said two soldiers were wounded, one severely, Saturday evening in a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank, the latest in months-long violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
The attack was the third to take place in the Palestinian town of Hawara in less than a month. One soldier was seriously wounded and the second was in moderate condition, the military said. A manhunt was launched as forces sealed roads leading to Hawara.
No Palestinian group claimed responsibility for the shooting attack, but Hamas, the militant group ruling the Gaza Strip, praised it.
“The resistance in the West Bank can surprise the occupation every time and the occupation cannot enjoy safety,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said.
Violence has surged in recent months in the West Bank and east Jerusalem amid near-daily Israeli arrest raids in Palestinian-controlled areas and a string of Palestinian attacks.
US-backed regional efforts to defuse tensions have led to the meeting of Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jordan and Egypt respectively, where parties hoped to prevent a further escalation during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
On Feb. 27, when Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Jordan’s Aqaba, a Palestinian gunman shot and killed two Israelis in Hawara. Another shooting attack in Hawara took place as the parties met again in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, wounding two Israelis.
Eighty-six Palestinians have been killed by Israeli or settler fire this year, according to an Associated Press tally. Palestinian attacks have killed 15 Israelis in the same period.
Israel says most of those killed have been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and people not involved in the confrontations have also been killed.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their future independent state.

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Topics: Israel Shooting Huwara Palestinian

Houthi drone attacks Yemen defense minister’s convoy in Taiz

File photo of Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Al-Daeri. (Screenshot)

Updated 26 March 2023

Saeed Al-Batati

March 25, 2023 21:28

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Houthi drone attacks Yemen defense minister’s convoy in Taiz

Muammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s information minister, accused the Houthis of attempting to derail peace attempts

Updated 26 March 2023

Saeed Al-Batati

March 25, 2023 21:28

AL-MUKALLA: A Yemeni government soldier was killed and two others wounded on Saturday when an explosives-laden drone fired by Iran-backed Houthis attacked a convoy conveying senior military leaders, including Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Al-Daeri, in the besieged city of Taiz, Yemeni officials and local media said.

A Yemeni government official told Arab News that the Houthis launched a drone at a convoy carrying the defense minister, the army’s chief of staff, and the governor of Taiz as they traveled from the Red Sea town of Mocha to Taiz. Al-Daeri and all other government officials were unhurt.

Muammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s information minister, accused the Houthis of attempting to derail peace attempts.

“This sinful targeting, which comes in the wake of the terrorist Houthi militia’s continuous escalation on multiple fronts, confirms its insistence on sabotaging efforts to restore the ceasefire and calm the situation,” the minister said on Twitter.

Al-Eryani had earlier warned that large-scale military operations would resume throughout the nation if the Houthis continued their assaults on government soldiers, particularly in the central province of Marib.

Scores of fighters have been killed or injured since early last week, when the Houthis began a series of intense assaults on government troops in the district of Hareb, south of Marib province, capturing a few villages.

Those attacks, as well as other less intense shelling and ground attacks in Taiz, have dashed hopes of a peaceful solution to the war, which had arisen following the latest successful round of prisoner-swap talks between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, which resulted in an agreement to release more than 800 prisoners during Ramadan.

Al-Eryani said Houthi raids in Hareb had resulted in the displacement of a significant number of people and posed the prospect of all-out conflict, which would put an end to the country’s relative peace since the UN-brokered ceasefire came into force in April last year.

Speaking to a group of military personnel in Taiz’s Al-Bareh on Friday, the minister pledged to defeat the Houthis, retake Sanaa and other areas currently controlled by the Iran-backed militias, and urged soldiers to remain alert.

“To reclaim every square inch of our territory, retake our capital, and restore our legitimate leadership to its proper position, we must all share the same spirit and direct our firearms against these militias,” the minister said.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Kumaim, a Yemeni military analyst, said the Houthis have used the UN-brokered truce to regroup, and to target military officials and government-controlled areas. He suggested that the Yemeni government should abandon any agreements with the Houthis and resume military operations.

“Following this attack on the convoy of the highest military authority in the Yemeni army, the government is expected to terminate all accords, including the Stockholm Agreement, and unleash the fronts,” Al-Kumaim said.

Since October, the Yemeni government has labeled the Houthis a terrorist organization. It threatened to withdraw from the Stockholm Agreement and other agreements with the Houthis and resume military offensives when the Houthis shelled oil facilities in Hadramout and Shabwa with drones and missiles, halting Yemen’s oil exports.

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Topics: Middle East Yemen Houthis

Japan Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Iraq’s Baghdad, Basra

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Japan Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Iraq’s Baghdad, Basra

Japan Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs visits Iraq’s Baghdad, Basra

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