Escalation between Iraq and Turkey as Erdogan slams Abadi

October 12, 2016

Jeddah, Oct 12: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s criticism of the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq ahead of a planned operation to retake Mosul from Daesh.

eddah

“Who’s that? The Iraqi prime minister? First you know your place,” retorted Erdogan.

“You are not my interlocutor; you are not my equal,” Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul at which he addressed Al-Abadi. “You should know your limits.”

“It is not important at all how you shout from Iraq. You should know that we will do what we have to do,” said Erdogan.

Turkey shares a 1,200 km border with Syria and Iraq, and faces threats from Daesh in both. Turkey is concerned however, that once Daesh is evicted from Mosul, the overwhelmingly Sunni city will be taken over by Iran-affiliated Shiite militias.

Ankara maintains an estimated 2,000 troops in Iraq — around 500 of them in the Bashiqa camp
in northern Iraq. They are training local fighters who will join the battle to recapture Mosul, according to Turkish media reports.

The Iraqi premier’s spokesman, Saad Al-Hadithi, said Erdogan was “pouring oil on the fire” with his remarks. “Turkey’s response has turned a law and security issue into a problem of a personal nature,” he told AFP.

The differences between Ankara and Baghdad flared up after the Turkish Parliament extended a government mandate by one year thereby allowing its troops to remain on both Iraqi and Syrian soil.

The Shiite-dominated Iraqi Parliament labeled the Turkish troops an “occupying force.”
Erdogan rejected the demand for Turkish troop withdrawal.

“Iraq had certain requests from us regarding Bashiqa, and now they are telling us to leave. But the Turkish Army has not lost so much standing as to take orders from you,” said Erdogan.
Turkey’s position is that involving Shiite militias in a drive to expel Daesh from Mosul will not bring peace.

“If you try to change the demographic structure in Mosul, you will ignite the fires of a major sectarian war,” said Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in Riyadh.

Confirming the news to Arab News on Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali said: “Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and Cavusoglu will hold a joint press conference on Thursday where they will address this issue (of Mosul).”

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi told Arab News on Tuesday that the GCC meeting with Turkey has assumed significance in the light of the new developments.

“Saudi Arabia and Turkey should be worried about Iran and the sectarian government in Baghdad,” he said. “They (Tehran and Baghdad) have supported demographic changes elsewhere in Iraq. They are changing history; their intentions are bad; and we know this from what they have already done in Sunni areas.”

According to Khashoggi, if Iran and the notorious Shiite militia, Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi, launch an attack of their own on Mosul, “then that will lead to a mass Sunni exodus from Mosul.” He said a Shiite presence in Mosul would make Sunnis anxious and fearful.

Khashoggi is worried about something else. “Iran may populate Mosul with people who are not indigenous to the area,” he claimed. “The Iranians have done this before; they change demographics, and should not be allowed to do so.”

He is strongly opposed to allowing what he sees as Iranian-American designs to succeed in Mosul.

“Erdogan will not allow the Americans and Iranians to go into Mosul with Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi,” he said. “Turkey will insist on — and get — a role for the Peshmergas because the Peshmergas are Erdogan’s strong allies.”

Khashoggi said Turkey would need support from the GCC states and “Turkey would get it, because Turkish concerns are Saudi and Gulf concerns as well.”

He did not agree with the American approach of aligning with Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi and the Kurds in order to liberate Mosul. “That is totally wrong. This should not be allowed (because) Al-Hashad Al-Shaabi are not people indigenous to Mosul,” he said.

Meanwhile, a US State Department official told Arab News that Iraq’s neighbors needed to respect Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“That is the premise that the global Counter ISIL Coalition operates under in Iraq, and we expect all of our partners to do the same,” he said. “We call on both governments to focus on their common enemy — Daesh.”

According to the spokesman, it is imperative for all parties in the coming days and weeks to coordinate their steps in order to ensure a unity of effort in the fight against Daesh.

“We continue to believe that this is a diplomatic matter for the governments of Iraq and Turkey to resolve and we support continued dialogue that will lead to a resolution of this matter,” he said.

“It is important that all parties who support the Iraqi government’s efforts to defeat Daesh do so in a manner that does not inflame sectarian tensions,” he said, and added: “This is something that we have discussed as a coalition and also with the government of Iraq.”

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KT
June 30,2020

Dubai, Jun 30: The UAE Embassy in India on Tuesday urged expats stranded in India to procure travel approvals from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) in the UAE ahead of their travel to the UAE.

It has also assured UAE residence visa holders that a no-objection letter to travel would be issued on a humanitarian basis, as long as the resident meets all conditions set by the government of UAE.

The UAE Embassy in New Delhi tweeted Tuesday morning, "The @UAEembassyIndia would like to draw the attention of the valid UAE residence permit holders currently present in India, to the necessity of obtaining necessary approval from the @ICAUAE while ensuring that all conditions set by the UAE competent authorities are observed."

It added, "Please note that UAE will issue no objection letter to travel in some humanitarian cases only that meet all conditions and requirements."

The embassy also affirmed its commitment to the decisions of the Indian authorities regarding the continued closure of airports in India, and implementation of some restrictions that do not allow foreign airlines to carry passengers.

"We express our thank for your cooperation and your understanding of the current global situation, and in case there is any developments in this regard, we will publish it on the official platforms of embassy (sic)," the Embassy tweeted.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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Agencies
July 14,2020

Dubai, Jul 14: The UAE-based parents of children under 12 stranded in India are in a tight spot with multiple airlines refusing to accept unaccompanied minors.

Starting July 12, Indians wanting to return to the UAE have been given a 15-day window to travel back on the condition that they have valid residency permits. They also have to produce a negative Covid-19 test result.

But parents of minors said they are feeling helpless as children are unable to avail of the travel opportunity despite having return permits.

"It has been more than three months since my daughter has been stuck in India. We have GDRFA approval for her but the airlines are not accepting her booking, saying she is under 12," Poonam Sapre, a Dubai-based mother, told Khaleej Times.

Her daughter Eva Sapre, 10, is in Hyderabad and is awaiting a reunion with her parents.

"She is just 10 and it has already taken an emotional toll on her. She is eager to come back and is asking me every day about her return. This is so frustrating."

Barring Emirates and Etihad, other airlines including flydubai, Air Arabia and Air India Express are not accepting unaccompanied minors. With India extending the travel freeze till July 31, normal flights are yet to resume and only special flights are allowed between India and UAE under a bilateral agreement.

Sapre said only flydubai is flying the Hyderabad-Dubai route, and the carrier has restrictions on minors travelling alone. "My daughter is too young to fly through indirect routes," claims the mother.

When Khaleej Times reached out to the airlines for comment, they confirmed that such rules on unaccompanied minors were already in place even before Covid-19 travel restrictions came into effect.

Another Dubai-based distressed parent, who did not want to be named, said her eight-year-old son is in Kerala and is unable to fly due to airline policies on unaccompanied minors.

"I called up Air India Express and they said this has been their rule even before the Covid-19 outbreak. I am appealing to them to re-consider and make an exception during these trying times so that our children can come home safely," she said.

Faced with this eventuality, some parents are forced to fly out of the UAE so they can accompany their children on the flight back home.

An Indian mother, who is currently in Mumbai, said she flew out of Dubai on Monday morning solely for the purpose of bringing back her twin daughters, aged 10.

"I had no choice. Ideally, they could have travelled together, but under these circumstances I thought it best to get them with me personally," said the mother.

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