UN rights office condemns pardon of Blackwater contractors convicted of war crimes - JURIST - News

The United Nations Human Rights Office Wednesday criticized President Trump for pardoning former Blackwater contractors who were jailed for killing 14 Iraqi civilians.

Iraq camp closures 'could leave 100,000 displaced people homeless' - BBC News

The rapid closure of displacement camps in Iraq could leave more than 100,000 people without shelter in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and as winter approaches, an aid group has warned.

Iraq PM orders 'immediate' execution of death row jihadists

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the immediate execution of hundreds of convicted jihadists on death row, in swift retaliation for the ISIS's execution of eight captives.

‘You can smell the bodies’: Angelina Jolie in Mosul one year after ‘liberation’ by US-led coalition

Nearly a year after Mosul in Iraq was declared “liberated” from ISIS terrorists, UNHCR envoy Angelina Jolie said the stench of dead bodies buried under the rubble was still present, amid the “worst devastation” she has ever seen.

Turkish President Puts All Kurdish-Held Towns in Syria, Iraq on "Notice"

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced just a day after pro-Ankara forces seized Afrin that Turkey’s military "operation"/invasion in Syria will target other Kurdish-held towns – and may even spill over into Iraq.

Turkey to carry out cross-border "operation" against PKK in Iraq

Turkey said Thursday it could launch a cross-border military operation against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) elements in Iraq in cooperation with the Iraqi army.

Iraq MPs call for timetable for foreign troop pullout

Iraq's parliament called for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country in a resolution passed Thursday, the speaker's office said.

UNICEF Appeals for $17 Million to Rebuild Iraq Health Facilities

The United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF appealed on Wednesday for $17 million to help rebuild Iraq's health facilities, ahead of an international conference to support the country's reconstruction due to convene next week in Kuwait.

Abadi tells Tillerson: PMF is hope of Iraq and region

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has rejected a call by Washington for Iranian-backed fighters to leave Iraq at a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Baghdad.

UN concerned over fate of civilians in Kirkuk province of Iraq

The United Nations has expressed deep concern for the safety of the civilian populations in the Hawiga region of Kirkuk Governorate after the Iraqi military secured the area from Islamic State terrorist fighters over the weekend.

U.N. human rights chief 'appalled' at mass executions in Iraq

The United Nations' human rights chief said Wednesday he is "appalled" at the mass execution of dozens of "militants" in Iraq last weekend.

Iraq, Iran, Turkey agree to counter Kurds' independence referendum

Iraq, Iran and Turkey agreed on taking countermeasures if the semi-autonomous Kurdish region insisted to hold an independence referendum in northern Iraq, said an official statement on Thursday.

Civilians Pay $300 to Terrorists to Cross Iraq's Border with Syria

ISIL terrorists are blackmailing anyone willing to leave the regions at Iraqi's border with Syria and ask $300 for each travel permission, an Iraqi source said Wednesday.

US-led forces confirm ‘unintentional killing’ of 61 more civilians in Iraq, Syria

The US-led coalition fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has confirmed another 61 “unintentional civilian deaths” caused by its strikes in Iraq and Syria, raising the number of civilians it has acknowledged killing since 2014 to at least 685.

Study: Iraq Sustained Most of 2016’s Deadliest Terrorist Attacks

Iraqi had the lion’s share of the deadliest terrorist bombings in 2016, according to a study by the University of Maryland.

Mosul's orphans facing unknown fate

Abdallah, Mariam and Rahma are younger than 1 year old and their identities are unknown. They were rescued from the rubble as Iraqi forces battled to wrest control of Mosul's old city from Islamic State militants. The three toddlers were given names at the orphanage where tens of children left orphaned by the 9-month-long war to end IS's con­trol of Iraq's second-largest city are harbored.

US court throws out Blackwater murder conviction

A U.S. appeals court on Friday threw out the first-degree murder conviction of a former Blackwater contractor who was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killings of at least 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.

Trump et Macron évoquent leur coopération en Syrie et Irak

 Le président américain Donald Trump et son homologue français Emmanuel Macron ont discuté vendredi par téléphone de la façon d'accroitre la coopération en Syrie et en Irak, faisant également un tour du monde des crises comme en Libye, en Ukraine ou au Venezuela.

ISIS/ISIL blow up Mosul's historical al-Nuri mosque

The extremist Islamic State (IS) militants have blown up Mosul's historical al-Nuri mosque and its leaning minaret, as Iraqi forces are pushing near the Mosque area in the western side of Mosul, the Iraqi military said.

Germany sounds warning on Iraqi Kurds' independence vote

Germany's foreign minister has warned that plans for a referendum on Kurdish independence could worsen tensions in Iraq.