Irak

„A native of Iraq, Ashour has been in exile because of his work in the human rights sector – especially women’s rights and LGBT+ rights. He also never really hid the fact he himself was gay. He has endured it all – police arrests, government monitoring and homophobia-fuelled bashings – but it wasn’t until he started receiving threats concerning his…

„As Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have been closing in on Tal Afar, a town 33 miles west of Mosul, through the western Mosul axis, the organization’s top commanders have openly discussed their post-Islamic State plans to secure the border with Syria and push into the country. These senior militia commanders are closely affiliated and coordinated with Iran. The spokesman…

„Yanar Mohammed runs a secret network of safe houses in her native Iraq. The women who come through its doors are honor-killing runaways, rape survivors, war widows and assorted others who have been to the cliff edge of hell and back. The shelters are meant to give them a second chance in life. Running the shelters gave her a second…

Von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken Noch sind sie Alliierte im Kampf gegen den IS, die schiitischen Milizen im Irak. Nur: Von Anfang an hatten sie eine andere, eigene Agenda und erhielten sie ihre Befehle aus Teheran. Der amerikanische Präsident Barack Obama mag ja glauben, dass der Islamische Staat irgendwie der Hauptfeind im Nahen Osten sei und man eine Allianz schmieden…

„A week after his tank division punched through Islamic State defenses on the southeast edge of Mosul, an Iraqi army colonel says the fight to drive the militants out of their urban stronghold is turning into a nightmare. Against a well-drilled, mobile and brutally effective enemy, exploiting the cover of built-up neighborhoods and the city’s civilian population, his tanks were…

„Security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government have unlawfully destroyed large numbers of Arab homes, and sometimes entire villages, in areas retaken from the Islamic State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 80-page report, ‚Marked With An ‘X’: Iraqi Kurdish Forces’ Destruction of Villages, Homes in Conflict with ISIS,‘ looked at destruction of homes between September…

„For months prior to the offensive, Iran, and its Iraqi proxies pressured the Iraqi government to accept the militias’ role in the Mosul offensive, a move that could give them a share of victory and provide them with a pretext to justify their activities long after the defeat of ISIS. That would secure Iran’s influence in Iraq that predominantly relies…

„The most intriguing aspect of the Mosul campaign, however, has been the differing and often opposing agendas of the various components of the attacking force.  These, with surprising rapidity, have now have come to the fore. Just two weeks into the offensive, two of its most prominent backers – the Baghdad government of Prime Minister Haider al Abadi, and the…

„It was a grim task he would repeat in the weeks and months that followed, as mass graves – some uncovered, others only barely so – began to appear around the dusty landscape. He and others from al-Hud would find the bodies while out hunting for rabbits and birds. Afterward, Mohsin said, he’d grab his shovel and return on his…

„Elusive Islamic State leader Abu Bkr al-Baghdadi called upon residents of Mosul on Thursday to fight what he said are the enemies of God, and called on ISIS fighters to destroy the Iraqi city’s ‚infidels‘ and invade Turkey.In a 31-minute audio recording published by the organization ‚Al-Furkan‘ under the title ‚This is what we were promised by Allah and His…

Von Thomas von der Osten-Sacken „Die Sexualität ist zum Dreh- und Angelpunkt geworden, um den sich aufgeklärte Werte und Fortschritt drehen. Sexuelle Freiheiten sind zum Lackmustest geworden, um zwischen offenen und geschlossenen Gesellschaften unterscheiden zu können.“ Maajid Nawaz, der im Mai diese Zeilen schrieb und gegen den dieser Tage eine äußerst unappetitliche Diffamierungskampagne läuft, könnte nicht mehr Recht haben. Islamisten…

[caption id="attachment_13488" align="alignleft" width="300"] Demonstration in Bagdad: Mitglieder der Hashid Shaabi zeigen ein Portrait des iranischen Quds-Kommandanten Qassem Soleimani[/caption] „Gun trucks and humvees streamed north on a highway heading to Mosul on Sunday flying the banners of Shi’ite militias along with Iraqi flags while blaring religious songs. The convoys were the first clear sign of a new player on the…

Der aus Syrien stammende Journalist Hassan Hassan erklärt, warum für viele in Syrien ein Sieg gegen den IS in Mosul negative Konsequenzen haben könnte. Denn anders als von den USA versprochen, spielen schiitische Milizen und ihre Unterstützer in Bagdad und Teheran eben doch eine wichtige Rolle. Und ihnen geht es keineswegs um die Befreiung Mosuls, sondern, wie sie offen erklären,…

„Hillary Clinton hat schon als Präsidentschaftskandidatin zeitliche Vorgaben gemacht für die Offensive gegen die Terrororganisation ‚Islamischer Staat‘ (IS) in Mossul. Wenn der künftige Präsident Ende Januar ins Weiße Haus einziehe, werde die nordirakische Stadt nicht mehr in den Händen des IS sein, hatte die Demokratin schon vor Wochen gesagt. Nun spricht einiges dafür, dass der künftige Oberkommandierende der amerikanischen Streitkräfte…

„The Shia leaders of the so called Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) – a grouping of Pro-Iran jihadists militias – are continuing to threaten Turkey. The last case happened with the threats of the leader of the militia Liwa Abu Al Fadl al-Abbas, Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji. In a video message, he threatened to kill Turkish troops during the Musul offensive and to force the troops of…