Author: Gulf News Week

Attack is first of its kind in months and occurs as PKK has begun disarmament, ending armed campaign against Turkiye.An unidentified drone attack has killed a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and injured another near northern Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah, according to security sources and local officials. The attack on Saturday was the first of its kind in months and occurred as the PKK has begun the first steps towards disarmament, ending its armed campaign against the Turkish state. The drone attack hit a motorbike in the area, according to Iraqi outlet The New Region. The mayor of Penjwen, in…

Israeli intervention ‘reignited tensions’ in the city, with fighting there ‘a dangerous turning point’, President Ahmed al-Sharaa said.Syria’s security forces have begun deploying in the restive southern province of Suwayda, a Ministry of Interior spokesperson has said, where heavy fighting between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces has left hundreds dead, compounded by Israeli military intervention. The deployment on Saturday came hours after the United States announced that Israel and Syria have agreed to a ceasefire, an as yet uncertain truce amidst overnight fighting. Syria’s government announced the ceasefire early on Saturday, saying in a statement it is…

The declaration has been agreed by representatives of both sides in Doha, weeks after talks in Washington.The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the M23 rebel group have signed a declaration of principles in Qatar to end fighting in eastern Congo. The declaration was signed on Saturday between representatives of both sides in Doha. The DRC and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have been engaged in heavy fighting, spurred by M23’s bloody January assault and capture of the DRC’s two largest cities. The decades-long conflict has roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, with M23 made up primarily of ethnic Tutsi fighters. The…

US ambassador says truce was ‘supported’ by the US and ’embraced’ by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours.Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire, US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, has announced, drawing an uneasy truce between the neighbours after days of air strikes and sectarian bloodshed in Syria’s southwestern Suwayda region. Barrack said in a post on X early on Saturday that the ceasefire between Syria and Israel was “supported” by Washington and “embraced” by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours. In his post announcing the ceasefire, Barrack said the US called “upon Druze, Bedouins, and Sunnis to put down…

The 13-year-old was hit with live ammunition south of Jenin and reportedly denied medical treatment by Israeli soldiers.Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank amid more violent raids by soldiers and settlers, and as Israeli authorities position to confiscate more land. Local Palestinian sources reported on Friday that 13-year-old Amr Ali Qabha was hit with live ammunition in a street in Yabad, located south of Jenin, and was denied medical treatment as soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching him. Qabha’s father also tried to reach him, but was severely beaten and detained by Israeli…

Knockback deals potential blow to US diplomat Thomas Barrack’s efforts to press on with ‘go-forward plan’ for Israel-Lebanon peace.Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem appeared to dismiss a proposal that his group disarm, as presented by the United States to Lebanon’s leadership last month. Qassem argued on Friday that the Israeli army would expand in Lebanon if there was no “resistance” in the country. “We will not surrender or give up to Israel; Israel will not take our weapons away from us,” he said in a video message. Qassem’s comments dealt a potential blow to US diplomat Thomas Barrack’s efforts last month…

Many across the world are rounding on Israel’s war on Gaza, with states in the ‘Global South’ leading the way.International public opinion continues to turn against Israel for its war on Gaza, with more governments slowly beginning to reflect those voices and increase their own condemnation of the country. In the last few weeks, Israeli government ministers have been sanctioned by several Western countries, with the United Kingdom, France and Canada issuing a joint statement condemning the “intolerable” level of “human suffering” in Gaza. Earlier this week, a number of countries from the Global South, “The Hague Group”, collectively agreed…

Crisis compounded after United States, which provided 40 percent of UNHCR funding last year, slashed its contribution.More than 11 million refugees risk losing access to humanitarian aid owing to a “dramatic” funding crisis, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The extent of UNHCR’s funding shortfall was revealed in a report released on Friday, which said it had so far received only 23 percent of this year’s goal of $10.6bn, projecting an overall budget of only $3.5bn by the end of the year to meet the needs of 122 million people. “Our funding situation is dramatic,” Dominique Hyde, director of…

Abu Obeida says there will be no guarantee of a return to partial deals if Israel leaves the negotiating table again.The spokesperson of the military wing of Hamas has said Israel rejected a ceasefire agreement that would release all captives held in Gaza, and pledged that the group is prepared for a lengthy war if there is no deal. Abu Obeida, the longtime spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, said in a nearly 20-minute prerecorded video released on Friday that the group had in recent months offered a “comprehensive deal” that would release all captives at once – but it was…

Support from the PKK and Turkiye’s politicians signals a change after decades of conflict, but pitfalls remain.“We voluntarily destroy our weapons … as a step of goodwill and determination,” said senior Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Bese Hozat, speaking in front of a gathering of the group’s fighters. The footage, filmed last Friday in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah, then shows the fighters – about 30 of them – placing their weapons inside a cauldron, where they were set alight. The ceremony may have been symbolic, but it capped what might be one of the most consequential periods in…