to reach a solution with baghdad, we believe that our peaceful relationship with baghdad and with the neighbouring countries is going to be in the best interests of the entire region. it is our lack of the entire region. it is our lack of understanding of our intention, and our will, and not accepting us as equal partners in this part of the world, that has created this tension. it is not ourfault. we are actually calling for a solution. we are actually calling for a peaceful settle m e nt are actually calling for a peaceful settlement with baghdad. but baghdad is refraining from talking with us, and resorting to legitimacy of the constitution, or the reason, the rationale, resorting to violence and threatening us that they are going to ta ke threatening us that they are going to take over kurdistan by the use of force, is to create indication that they actually are not accepting us as equal partners, and they are not actually looking at the stability of this region. so you know, once again, let me set the record straight. we have no intention of hostility or complicating the already

baghdad says it will impose its rule instead. if the kurds are to succeed, masrour, my guest today, grandson of one barzani, son of the other, and head of security and intelligence in iraqi kurdistan, will need all the guile he's acquired waging war on the group that calls itself islamic state. he thinks that has earned kurds the right to a state of their own. but with iraq, iran, turkey, much of the world against them, could this referendum end up delivering the kurds even less than the autonomy that they enjoy now? masrour barzani, in erbil, in iraqi kurdistan, welcome to hardtalk, thank you for being with us today. thank you for having me. "the man driving the independent push" is how you were described recently. how has this referendum made things better for the kurds? well, as you know, we have been having problems with baghdad all along and we have tried every other means to make sure we resolve our problems peacefully but, unfortunately, the iraqi government did not address all these issues according to the constitution an

government in baghdad and also there is a control of the army on the part of the army. as my friend in london mentioned by cousin sulaimani and by that iran so the iraqi government now it's. in the hands of some people that they want to reelect in two thousand and eighteen we have to leave it there thank you to our guests. by caution now and. if you want to know more about this subject go to the place where you can always watch the program again and find out more that's on our website al-jazeera dot com if you want to air your views or tell us what we should talk about next time around we're on facebook find us at facebook dot com forward slash a.j. inside story or you can use twitter our handle is a.j. inside story i'll be back in this chair soon in fact just under twenty four hours from now on the whole team here bye for now. to navigating dangerous rapids from the time with the car to the time we finished it was scary to the fisherman dicing with death. i'm afraid of falling i'm afraid of dying but if i don't go for a coffee my family needs the man who go to the extr

well let's bring in our guest to discuss all of this and in baghdad we have more by he's former iraqi national security advisor who's now a member of parliament for baghdad in erbil caution our kurdish political analyst and professor at the beit institute and in london. a research or at the university of exeter is strategy and security institute welcome to you all like to start with you in baghdad mr by your former national security advisor so you have extremely good sources i'd like your perspective right now of the situation on the ground where to broadcast it is. about zanny. so at the consulate represent that they're in baghdad and the federal government has authorized the prime minister and commander in chief. and to regain control of all territories which were taken by it and it's about illegally. and part of the constitution he has declared so the only iraqis behind the government and behind the popular mobilization forces and behind the iraqi security forces to take over the control of gook and the what they call dispute it did turn it to ease and can you just tell us is can y

so that some kind of talks and negotiations can take place between baghdad and erbil. well i think he hinted at this in a statement he made in doha when he referred to iraq yesterday he said that they were against the referendum it was the wrong time and yes dialogue needed to go forward he said that basically what was happening was repositioning was his words of the iraqi forces to positions held before two thousand and fourteen and that's briefly the pressure basically moved into these areas because i still had come into those areas many of those iraqi forces that left behind pushed i saw out and then montagne in those positions it's controversial because there disputed territories but the americans made it clear that just because the federal forces were now in control of those areas this did not mean that the issue of disputed territories were resolved or he hinted at the front that the kurds still had to malls that were written in the iraqi constitution that need to be fulfilled and specifically it's complicated but this refers to one article article one forty of t

and oil and baghdad so that sent its strongest message so far so the kurdish leadership taking just a day to take charge of coke and the all fields around the city last month voters in iraq's kurdish region as well as some disputed areas overwhelmingly opted to secede but baghdad as well as neighbors iran and turkey have fiercely opposed the move we'll get to our panel of just guests to discuss a less but first this report from charles stratford. the kurdish flag no longer flies in the center of cuba cook. the city now officially back in the hands of the iraqi government its forces but made a rapid advance launched in the middle of the night fifteen hours later the industrial area airports military base and critical all fields were under the control of iraqi forces soon after they marched into the center of the city. iraqi officials were quick to declare victory. the joint military operation was launched at dawn and progress significantly as the troops approached the area to crete and the north oil company were confronted by some rebels who tried to hinder the progress of the advancin

while in fact we are disappointed the overreaction of the international community and baghdad what baghdad does is exactly collective punishment of the people of color to stand for something that we have done very peacefully and democratically we have committed ourselves to iraq and we will until we went to baghdad in two thousand and three to build a new federal democratic and pluralistic iraq but unfortunately it did not work and when we decided to go on a referendum we said that it does not mean that you need laterally we will declare independence the day after and this does not mean that we will define the borders of kurdistan region with all due respect the statements coming from baghdad this is not true there are not telling the truth because baghdad is behind the movement of the troops the deployment of the troops the build up and also the mobilization baghdad is the aggressor and if anything happens baghdad first and foremost will be accountable responsible for the consequences we have stayed where. we are and we have told baghdad that struck we have not committed a crime and we ha

kurds have been under sanctions from baghdad and are internationally isolated you know obvious funny fish are has the latest from the region also coming up. support for spanish unity spills on to the streets of catalonia now madrid must decide whether to arrest the cut along leaders who proclaimed independence last week we go live to barcelona. the fierce winds and heavy rains lashed central europe leaving six people dead poland and the czech republic hit hard germany also battered overnight as well. with. a low and welcome to the show i'm brian thomas. iraq's autonomous kurdish region defied the central government and held a referendum on independence a month ago kurds overwhelmingly backed a separate state but the move triggered quick retaliation with troops from baghdad seizing key kurdish areas and now president mustard barzani the man who championed independence for decades is stepping down in a moment we'll be hearing from the w's funny fish are who's in the region first let's take a look at how some iraqi kurds have been reacting to the news. outrage in the kurdish capital pro

how will baghdad deal with iraqi kurdistan and will it. amended the promises that prime minister about he is making for the whole country will have to see that is this going to be implemented or not is he capable of bringing in economic plans financial plans and and service plans for the country bring in good politics and national reconciliation with the sunnis all of these things are issues are yet to be seen which we are seeing now is on the face of it a military victory for the iraqi army and the iraqi government and a kind of defeat for the kurds because of the referendum but we have. yet to see how will this and this is not the end the final chapter in this and the process we are still we have to wait for the for the live for further developments the first step of this is mr bush's only stepping down or stepping aside. as it's seen this is on one hand on the other hand i think we have to see how will the government and now in iraqi kurdistan the executive the parliament the judiciary will deal with the challenges that they're faced wi

secretary of state rex tillerson has arrived in the iraqi capital baghdad on an unannounced visit it comes after you made a surprise trip to afghanistan he's also visited saudi arabia and qatar rex tillerson met afghanistan's president gone me and the chief executive of the base he says the u.s. is committed to keeping its presence in the country and till things are more stable let's go live now to patty call her and she's been following all these developments she joins us from doha now and so patty this visit to afghanistan was pretty short is anything tangible come out of it. no not really but i have to say that this is something we see u.s. secretaries of state like to travel well whether they like it or not it's a big part of the job and they can tend to keep track of countries visited miles can't remember the last time a u.s. secretary of state went to both places where the u.s. has fighting in the conflict in one day afghanistan and baghdad where he is now just letting you know what we expect we expect that he will make statements with the iraqi prime minister then come back he

iraq's prime minister says the kurdish referendum on secession from baghdad is finished and a thing of the past he's calling for dialogue with the kurdish leadership this is iraqi government troops and their allies capture more territory from kurdish forces in the country's north. where the kurdish peshmerga are still in control in the hook. and solomon near the three provinces that make up the semi autonomous kurdish region but they have withdrawn from sin jar mark work here cook and head of kin all of which they took over during the fight against eisel and those areas that were included in the kurdish referendum on the session last month a vote that infuriated baghdad and ultimately triggered its move to take the disputed territories of the president of the kurdistan regional government has called the withdrawal of peshmerga fighters historic treason charles frankfurt has more from erbil. president masoud barzani has released a statement describing what he says was one of the reasons behind this incredibly fast withdrawal of peshmerga fighters from kirkuk and the other disputed terri

in last month's move to secede from iraq he wanted that vote to be his legacy instead it's provoked baghdad to crack down on the kurds. in a defiant address barzani defended the referendum he said the will of the kurdish people was clear. and the referendum can never be erased because these are the votes of three million people. iraq no longer believes in kurdish rights. arac is using the kurdish independence referendum as a pretext to attack kurdistan. the vote for independence has angered the iraqi government baghdad once the kurds to declare their referendum void and is backed up those demands with force after the referendum the iraqi government launched a surprise attack on kurdish controlled territory and seized her cook the oil rich city would have been the economic hub of a future kurdish state. the loss of kirkuk has cost barzani support among some of his fellow kurds but it's unclear whether his resignation will help bring an end to the confrontation with baghdad. our correspondent funny star is in the capital of iraqi kurdistan air i spoke to her earlier and asked her who is in co

hopefully there aren't any displaced people and i'm sure baghdad doesn't wa nt people and i'm sure baghdad doesn't want that either. mr faily, former iraqi ambassador to the united states, thank you for speaking to us. states, thank you for speaking to us. thank you, sir. a journalist who investigated corruption among politicians, officials and business people in malta has been killed by a car bomb. daphne caruana galizia died on monday afternoon in an explosion near her home. it's not known who carried out the attack. andrew plant has the story. the wreckage of a car in the distance, daphne caruana galizia was driving near her home on monday afternoon when the bomb went off. in the foreground here, the site of the explosion, powerful enough to blow her car off the road. it ended up in the field beyond. daphne caruana galizia was a thorn in the side of malta's establishment, described as a one—woman wikileaks. her most recent revelations pointing a finger at malta's prime minister, joseph muscat, and claims of corruption linked to the panama papers, claims he has denied. no—one has cla

communication between baghdad and erbil has not been severed we are not living in two states it is only one still we could have different views but talks are under way and yes you can be resolved there is no issue that is beyond resolution.

so baghdad in particular is not willing to negotiate and maybe he is giving room for other actors in the on the kurdish side so negotiations could move forward and the current cease fire between kurdish and iraqi forces to carry on and result in peaceful settlement right so how much room for maneuver is there now that is stepping aside how light politicians who could replace him approach talks with baghdad. he has devolved much of his authority to the cabinet and particularly the prime minister led by the prime minister who mr zani who is also his son in law and nephew so his legacy and his powers so to speak are in good hands and therefore the next phase of kurdish leadership will be led by not only his party the democratic party which mr resign the remains its leader but also by the trust the prime minister the. and you are saying that person remains in the leader of the k d p he may be stepping aside but it doesn't mean he has lost all power does that mean that he could. prove an obstacle to this new relationship that must now be forged with the central government in baghdad. powe

of his president barzani we saw the iranian foreign minister and when it comes to baghdad we saw the speaker of the parliament and we saw other. search of the right. right. now. in front as of yesterday there was negotiations between the two sides mr by the one thing the body to first be flown to baghdad and then come here and as we understand it the family refused that request this step toward a comes out what is that an uncertain time for iraqi kurds with the independence referendum. week and the threat of sanctions from the central government in baghdad and neighboring countries iran and turkey would disappear look like today for iraqi kurds. well certainly certainly they're entering a very turbulent time you know we we hear about neighboring countries threatening to close the border crossings that hasn't happened yet the international airspace over this region has been shut down at the request of baghdad exactly a week ago. and then there's other measures that baghdad have been taking that when you speak to people they said they did expect that there will be a negative reaction c

the government in baghdad wanting for the body to actually. be given an official ceremony as a former president but as we understand it the family preferred for the body to come here so we don't know at this stage who is representing the government but we are told that there is a high level delegation coming from iraq and also coming from iraq and also there are delegations coming from neighboring countries and watching live images. of carrying the body of bani just now. i wonder how are officials actually riving there with international airspace over the kurdish region closed. well that was a question among many people here during the past few days but i mean when the suspension of international flights was announced for both airports the one and. it was made clear by baghdad that only special planes will be allowed. and hear directly and i think this is what happened today because as we understand it all these official delegations coming from neighboring countries and beyond have actually come directly without stopping through baghdad i thin

secure their interests through working with baghdad through dialogue with baghdad so i don't see that happening having said that the longer this continues clearly some this does potentially open up the room in the space for. to make a comeback in certain certain areas so long as military resources are devoted to securing for example so it depends how long this goes on and sort of can that temperature be be brought down to use your phrase it will see what happens for the moment for the hundred. joining us sir. now to syria where u.s. backed forces say that i saw fighters in all the verge of being completely removed from russia itself capital of the region the our group has controlled the air from all the three years that's true it has brought us the latest for us taqiyya the turkey syria border this news was actually developing just a short while ago conflicting reports as to whether the authorities actually have full control of what are you hearing i should. say we've been in touch with sources in in iraq and they have just confirmed to us that iraq is fully and the control of the cit

and erbil now baghdad has made it very clear that there will be no dialogue until the results of that referendum are meaning making it void it's a complicated situation it all has to do with disputed territories land issues who controls what that stretches back years and years and years now one man we've been speaking to his family owns this law and says that nothing none of this can be resolved through military means those debility have been we want happiness we want brotherhood there's been enough killing among us war solves nothing this needs to be resolved through dialogue and killings need to stop all of the killings if kurdish turkish arabs it doesn't matter everyone just needs to be happy these are hugely challenging times for the kurds of northern iraq anyone you speak to here will tell you that it was completely unexpected what's happened over the last week or so the iraqi forces together with the minister taking areas of territory that had previously been held by the kurds disputed territory of course but certainly it's just one of the challenges this region also faces huge

news coming to you live from berlin fears grow up new tensions in iraq as government forces from baghdad celebrate their recapture of the northern city of kirkuk from the kurds but the u.n. and the u.s. are appealing for calm. also coming up two weeks ago multis journalist stuff to cover one a she had told police she feared for her life now she's dead why was the journalist known for her investigative investigation into government corruption kill. the champions league hits the pitch on tuesday and it's crunch time for but his legal team likes the they face porto in a must win match that could kickstart their european hopes. hello i'm terry marchant good to have you with us. iraqi government forces say they've taken control of all major oil fields in the disputed northern province of cook it's part of a push by the central government to retake kurdish areas after the kurds voted for independence in a referendum last month baghdad said its forces were defending the integrity of the country. celebrations in kirkuk as iraqi forces rolly and supporters of the iraqi central government couldn't

the government in baghdad rejected are there any efforts to result this with diplomatic means. i mean this certainly and you know the americans are trying to bring them to the table but you know the head of the vote you know baghdad was very clear they didn't want the kids to hold the referendum the kid said they would hold the referendum and then hold negotiations well now that's happened but that said they're not willing to negotiate they have issued a series of all to masons to the kids including giving back territory in the disputed territories like cook which they've held in since two thousand and fourteen the cuts took this territory without fighting when the iraqi military left you know ahead of an isis advance so they don't feel like they want to give it back even you know leaders now i appear to be withdrawing units without you know without this resulting in outright hostilities today but i mean it's very fair brawl it's hard to say what's going to happen now i'm sure campbell thank you so much for that update kamal mcdermott there in correspondent in iraq just south o

how about baghdad exercising all the articles in the constitution it has been violating? you're talking about the international community, are you disappointed by washington's response? not just washington, disappointed by washington's response? notjust washington, i would say the international community at large. we're disappointed there hasn't been a wider condemnation of the violence. while there was a great deal of condemnation of our referendum, which was an exercise in democracy, on an issue of self—determination, which is enshrined in the un charter, there was plenty of condemnation of that, but we don't see the same kind of condemnation of this unilateral action by baghdad using tanks, humvees, weapons provided by the coalition and particularly the united states against its own people. bouquet, bayan sami abdul rahman, thank you very much for speaking to us. thank you. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. british prime minister theresa may and european commission head jean—claude junker say brexit talks should accelerate in the next

after iraqi troops seized her coke and other kurdish areas iraq's kurds have been under sanctions from baghdad and are internationally isolated funny fosh are has the very latest from the region also coming up. support for spanish unity spills onto the streets of catalonia now madrid must decide whether to arrest the cattle on leaders who proclaimed independence last week. and the united nations warns of a new humanitarian crisis in syria that has images of starving children emerged from a rebel held area east of the capital this mass chaos. plus a powerful storm leaves a trail of destruction across europe fierce winds heavy rains lashing central europe leaving six people dead poland and the czech republic are hard hit germany battered overnight as well. our brian thomas welcome to the show iraq's autonomous kurdish region defied the central government and held a referendum on independence a month ago kurds overwhelmingly backed a separate state but the move triggered a quick retaliation with troops from baghdad seizing key kurdish areas and now president barzani the man who championed indepen

iraqi troops seized their coke and other kurdish areas are rocks kurds have been under sanctions from baghdad and internationally isolated. has the latest from the region also coming up. support for spanish unity spills onto the streets of catalonia now madrid must decide whether to arrest caught along leaders who proclaimed independence last week . united nations is warning of a new humanitarian crisis in syria that is images of starving children emerge from rebel held in the east of the capital damascus. and lewis hamilton seals his fourth formula one world title after a day of drama in mexico city while all the details. i'm brian todd. i'm a savory warm welcome to the show well a month ago iraq's autonomous kurdish region defied the central government in baghdad and held a referendum on independence kurds overwhelmingly backed a separate state but that move triggered quick retaliation with troops from baghdad seizing key cities and oil wells now president masoud barzani the man who has championed independence for decades is stepping down in a moment we'll be hearing from debbie is funny fo

launched yesterday between baghdad and out of below in a way that the iraqi forces can take on let's say can we those locations in a way or another but not and to link the center of kirkuk and not going forward to take all of chemical that's why mr about he said yesterday is that we can share the security between the iraqi forces we can share the security with the peshmerga go which means that between the iraqi forces and the pressure monitor but who's pressure not to go so many oppression to go out to bill press my car this is a huge question because at the end who treat is actually still a money a pressure monitor which means that maybe there is under the table agreement between sulaimani and baghdad very complex situation indeed thank you very much for speaking to us ahmed rashid from the iraqi expertise foundation joining us from baghdad thank you for your time. to somalia where three days of national mourning have been declared after at least two hundred thirty people were killed in a massive bombing in mogadishu local authorities say the blasts is the deadliest single attack on

ok well we seem to have lost that feed there out of baghdad where the iraqi president. was just calling for an urgent dialogue between the central government in baghdad and kurdish leadership to the situation in northern iraq excel rated quite quickly in the last forty eight hours with kurdish forces losing quite a lot of ground to the iraqi forces now the iraqi president calling for dialogue between the two governments. which has been situation between the two government has been quite tense cincy kurdish referendum last month in which most kurds called for secession from iraq are let's not bring in andrew a social media producer and a well known journalist has been killed in malta and that's generating quite a lot of reaction online it certainly is fully we're seeing quite a bit of outrage and sadness over the death of multis journalist death me. now she was one of the people responsible for the panama papers investigation fifty three year old galicia was killed when a bomb exploded in the car she was driving near her house in northern malta as she was known for relen

stopped sending this region in two thousand and fifteen now baghdad has not yet said when no one. it will restart sending the money but with. the government control the economic situation of the region could get even worse. the white house says the defeat of isolate itself proclaimed capital in syria opens a new phase in the conflict u.s. backed fighters that cleared the city under their control on tuesday the kurdish led syrian democratic forces raised their flag stadium after a four month battle it's across the city says it will redeploy fighters to the frontline against eisel in the eastern province. vanessa cramond is a medical coordinator with doctors without borders and that's in northern syria and she says a large number of civilians who escaped are yet to receive medical assistance. in the last few days seeing no mothers and children come you know covered in and that's the main thrust that you see when you know that there's been enormous structural collapse. from. a shell shocked not to use that word like many many of them lost children. lost and i cannot wait to be throug

nervous because there's been a great deal of pressure on it not just from the central government in baghdad but also from the neighboring countries after this controversial referendum. right there we have seen joint military operations between the iraqi military and the iranians on the iranian border joint military operations between the iraqis and the turkish on the on the turkish border i mean in the last few hours that we hear reports that the spokesperson for the turkish president president roosevelt try a murder one saying now that turkey is planning on gradually taking control of that land border with the k r g in coordination with the iraqi and the iranian government's they've been threatening to do this since that referendum happened certainly the turks now saying that they are intent on doing that and it's been increasing pressure as we've been saying from baghdad it was yesterday one of the main federal courts said that it had arrest warrants for members of the k r g election commission for those arrests to be made however it has to be signed off by the supremes court. the list of

and baghdad has since accused the kayleigh ji of not sharing the oil wells but any fighting here could jeopardize the battle against. around fifty kilometers southwest of kirkuk who controls kirkuk. the referendum on kurdish independence you could say they will fight anyone who tries to take it from them. that al-jazeera it will iraqi security forces have deployed thousands of troops to the city of karbala ahead of a religious event i should a commemoration is particularly important for. marking the anniversary of the seventh century battle of karbala the main ritual is mourning the death of same the prophet's grandson this event has often been marred by attacks targeting the shia community. turkey has set up a military academy in somalia about fifteen hundred somali soldiers can be trained there at a time making it the largest foreign run military training center in the country somalia as army has been backed by the african union but their troops will be withdrawn from next year still ahead a knowledge of how our language divide is fueling calls for independence in cameroon speaking.

border in coordination with baghdad and tehran kurdish regional government says baghdad's action amounts to collective punishment this is a clear prove that that is not ready for democracy or for dialogue. we from our side will inject violence we reject confrontation we are not force collation and we do not want to provoke but but likewise we expect that to respect the will of the people of course the iraqi prime minister hyderabadi says military confrontation is not the solution. but he says there will be no dialogue with the kayleigh ji until the referendum results are made no and avoid. more than ninety two percent of those who voted said yes to eventual kurdish the session the k r g says the kurdish people of iraq have spoken trial strafford al-jazeera northern iraq kenya's the senate has approved a new amendment to the electoral law that will enable the disputed presidential poll to be rerun without opposition leader. now they have had withdrawn from the rerun in the hope that he withdrawing would actually trigger a fresh election for the government has also been protests over the m

baghdad has denied accusations that it is planning an attack on the autonomous kurdish region of iraq kurdish authorities even night saying they received a warning from the iraqi military of a planned attack on kurdish controlled areas. that is in. northern iraq. this is the last kurdish peshmerga checkpoint on the bill mostly road. the kurdish authorities closed it and another route into nineveh province for a few hours overnight saying they had received messages from the iraqi military that it was planning attacks in kurdish control. pressure is mounting from baghdad on the kurdish regional government ok argy following the recent referendum on secession from iraq many people say they feel punished and afraid the iraqi government is trying to fight the chaos economically wanted to close its land borders they have already closed the international airspace they have cut the federal budget to the k. are cheap it's all coming from a bad government this is not right civilians should not be punished like this the federal government in baghdad denied any responsibility for these messages th

it stops sending the money in two thousand and fifteen and baghdad has since accused the kayleigh ji of not sharing the oil wealth but any fighting here could jeopardize the battle against eisel in her around fifty kilometers southwest of kirkuk who controls kill cook. the referendum and kurdish independence the kurds say they will fight anyone who tries to take it from them strafford al jazeera. oil is also a big concern in nigeria and higher it's costing the government at least a billion dollars in lost revenue every month many reports from the. on the hunt for pirates in all fields in the creeks of nigeria's delta it's hard and dangerous way. as we approach a base we were being watched all the way but the military hardware is enough deterrent. that the oil field was set on fire strategy to stop us from getting close to the suspects however aren't lucky today and the reason we get on board. is. three months after their bases destroyed by the army it's being rebuilt while all is refined and the talk of pipes lead to a nearby oil well for a way crude is diverted this is what remains

and erbil now baghdad has made it very clear that there will be no dialogue until the results of that referendum are meaning making it void it's a complicated situation it all has to do with disputed territories land issues who controls what that stretches back years and years and years now one man who have been speaking to his family owns this land says that nothing none of this can be resolved through military means. those debility have been a good we want happiness we want brotherhood there's been enough killing among us war solves nothing this needs to be resolved through dialogue and killings need to stop all of the killings if kurdish turkish arabs it doesn't matter everyone just needs to be happy these are challenging times for the kurds of northern iraq anyone you speak to it will tell you that it would completely unexpected what's happened over the last week or so the iraqi forces together with shia militia taking areas of territory that had previously been held by the current disputed territory of course but certainly it's just one of the challenges this region also faces hu

stopped sending this region in two thousand and fifteen now baghdad has not yet said when no. if it will restart sending the money but with the oil fields firmly under government control the economic situation of this region could get even worse off at al-jazeera get a bill. the school year is just started in yemen but with a civil war raging it's very different to what peoples my experience and most of the country's lessons are held in shacks or under trees and a group will haunt children's education and sasha cohen aim has mall. counting their numbers surrounded by rubble is what school has become for millions of yemeni students. unicef says war is risking the education a four and a half million children. most of their teachers haven't been paid in almost a year they may say that look this is a somewhat he shouldn't even shacks and the trees even about to tumble down classrooms out of partially damaged and my fall on our heads at any moment unicef says during the more than two and a half year war sixteen hundred schools have been destroyed or damaged those in good enough con

that i still hold it's also important because it's a border crossing and it's on the main highway to baghdad from syria the syrian side is also still held by i still so once they achieve that i think you know it's hasn't started effectively as a military operation yet it would essentially be cutting off the last border crossing that i still hold and of course propaganda machine was very much about the state about you know cutting down foreign imposed borders so this would be sort of coming back to that and then very briefly there's also concern because it's such a complicated story richelle is of the iranian influence of the iranian militias of territory that you know iranian influenced military brigades hold there is a concern of course if that area falls into those kinds of hands and iran would have a swathe of territory that gives it access you know from iraq to syria to lebanon and so all these forces are at play it is geopolitical it is regional it is complicated but again when it just coming back to the basics of that offensive the warnings are out there the actual military offensive h

around the kurdish held city the operation comes weeks after kurds voted to declare independence from baghdad. also coming up scores of people are still missing after saturday's powerful truck bomb in the somali capital of mogadishu the explosion killed hundreds of people at the death toll may rise even further. and they've rippled the fabric of space and time scientists have been discussing their existence for hundreds of years to get ready to find out why gravitational waves are so important. i'm sorry kelly welcome to the program thanks for joining us iraqi government forces have moved into the disputed city of kirkuk in a bold move to retake land from the kurds witnesses say that iraqi troops have taken over the governor's headquarters and seized a military base and oil and gas fields. footage from the city shows non kurdish residents out celebrating in the streets welcoming those soldiers thousands of kurds are said to have fled the city officials have called the iraqi advance and unprovoked attack tension has been high in the kurdish region following a controversial independence referen

to hand over these positions without fighting so let's hear the view from baghdad now. to us earlier an iraqi member of parliament who told us baghdad is constitutionally allowed to impose his rule in cook. one of the suburbs of. now under the control of the iraqi security forces. this is this is certainly the what's happening here people should not forget that. there was and there the control of the government of iraq and the two thousand and fourteen when. stormed the three provinces not to knock out who read the book was it the world of the occupied by the peshmerga and they're trying to create a new fact or a new reality on the ground and. this was this was it so did it clear to me that liberation after have been undone by about islamic council after presenting the iraqi parliament has brought iraq at the right the prime minister the commander in chief. deep deploy iraqi security forces all over the country all over that it's of it in iraq gook or the or whatever this is the constitutional of the prime minister and the commander in chief. to impose to implement the

held city today the military move comes just two weeks after kurds voted to declare independence from baghdad a move that has been rejected by kurdish neighbors and kurdish alums also coming up in a v.w. exclusive we meet a man he was helping the authorities in germany to hunt down fighters for a so-called islamic state. and scores of people are still missing after saturday's powerful truck bomb in the somali capital mogadishu the explosion killed hundreds of people and the death toll is expected to rise even further. plus the dawn of a new era in astronomy is at hand and that's what physicists tell us scientists have been discussing the existence of gravitational waves for a hundred years and now they have proved for the first time that they exist get ready to find out why these waves are so important. i'm burnt off it's good to have you with us iraq's military is reporting progress tonight but not in the fight against islamic state iraqi forces have moved into the disputed city of kirkuk in a bold campaign to retake land from the kurds thousands of kurds are said to have already fled the ci

repair relations with baghdad as well as ankara ante run. what might it lead to poor the wider region? well as ankara ante run. what might it lead to poor the wider region7m is really are unclear what it might lead to in the region. the kurdistan regional government is trying its best to stop the bloodshed that has been going on for the last ten days. it wants to make sure the conflict will not come towards the kurdish cities and i think there will be some kind of ceasefire between the kurdish forces and the iraqi forces. the settlement of all the disputes between kurdistan answer. that will require a lot of time. this will happen after the parliamentary elections in may of 2018 in iraq. stay with us on bbc news. still to come... powerful storms sweep across central europe, killing at least three people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. indira gandhi, ruler of the world's largest democracy, died today. 0nly yesterday she'd spoken of dying in the service of her country and said, "i would be proud of it, every drop of my blood w

to give up the strategic positions as demanded by baghdad including camp till awad the industrial area and military air strip all these positions were seized by the peshmerga under orders from the kurdistan regional government following the withdrawal of the iraqi forces in two thousand and fourteen with the arrival of eisel after arsal defeat and seizing control of the city to her by the iraqi forces and the people's mobilization forces baghdad demanded kurdistan province to hand back these positions as of now the kurdistan democratic party refuses to hand over these positions but patriotic union of kurdistan had an agreement with baghdad to hand over these positions without fighting now moi fuck out of a brazen iraqi member of parliament speaking to my colleague peter darby earlier he said that despite voting overwhelmingly for secession last month the people that don't want to separate from iraq. what of the suburbs of. now under the control of the iraqi security forces. this is the this is. the what's happening here people should not forget that. there was and there the control of

baghdad demanding that the k r g makes the results of this red from referendum and void i mean this kind of victory in killer cook could only put more pressure on the k r g a to come towards baghdad and start sitting around the table the k r g to saving no doubt feeling very isolated and very angry about this with victory for the iraqi military in and around kirkuk charles stratford with the latest from the of meal charles for the moment thank you. all charles mentioned some of it but let's take a closer look at how exactly we got to this point ten it all stems from the credit region in the north. yes the siding to go ahead with a vote on secession even before the vote happened tensions were mounting the day before the vote on september the twenty fourth iran stopped flies to the region and started military exercises on the border the spy widespread international opposition including from the u.s. and even the u.n. the kurds held that their referendum the next day ninety two percent of the more than three million people who cast their ballots voted yes on september the twenty sixth

sectarian with baghdad we are less than nothing not even second class citizens. this border area was controlled by the iraqi government in baghdad up until two thousand and fourteen when the kurds ever arrived. prime minister threatening to retake control of similar areas but increasing numbers of sudanese are calling for further disapprobation. there is no other choice but the division of iraq each live in the area. unity is an illusion of the arab countries there is no more. sectarianism and we are aiming for a sunni autonomy. the kurdish. other minorities. their place in the iraq after saddam hussein every flexion up to failures of the baghdad government to be inclusive and it's difficult to see how the iraqi flag will be raised here once again. two guards have been killed after an attack on a saudi royal palace in jeddah the interior ministry says a saudi man opened fire on security forces guarding the palace he was then shot dead earlier this week police raided hideouts of a group they say is linked to weisel killing two people and arresting five ghana's gov

sectarian with baghdad we are less than even second class citizens. this border area was controlled by the iraqi government in baghdad up until two thousand and fourteen when the kurds ever arrived. prime minister threatening to retake control of similar areas but increasing numbers of sudanese are calling for further disapprobation. there is no other choice but the division of iraq each live in the area. unity is an illusion the arab countries there is no more this will put an end to sectarianism and we are aiming for a sunni autonomy. the kurdish referendum other minorities were never found their place in the iraq after. everything defamers of the baghdad government to be inclusive it's difficult to see how the iraqi flag will be raised here once again. robby are ignored in iraq. hundreds of people have held a rally to demand free and fair elections and said he is capital opposition leaders accuse the ruling party of tampering with voter lists before local elections next year the vote is seen as a test of leadership for president alexandrovitch just

so the kurds now saying they're ready for talks with baghdad and they want to ceasefire kurdish peshmerga forces have been fighting government troops near a key oil pipeline stephanie decker has more from near iraq's border with syria. well it's a very unexpected statement really because the k r g the kurdistan regional government has always said the results of the river and m were a red line the demand from baghdad was that the results needed to be before any dialogue to take place so now what we have is an offer from the regional government here saying let's freeze the and i think this kind of language is important see what that means whether baghdad accept it let's freeze the results let's have an immediate cease fire and let's go into dialogue now let me just explain to you where we are which i think has some part of that we are in northern iraq of course but it's at the point of triangle where there was fighting yesterday and i just behind us those mountains you see around two kilometers is syria and then a little further north you have turkey so this is a crucial point there was fig

terms of going forward now what kind of relationship will they have with the central government in baghdad. well they have to have a relationship with the central government because you know it is still one country it's a semi autonomous region we know at the moment for example one of the backlashes of that controversial referendum is the fact that the federal authority of baghdad is going to take over the control of the border crossings that the k r g has been in charge of since two thousand and three so talks are going on at the moment not right now because it's late but that was the second day that they took part in mosul between the rockies between the peshmerga going to the all spaces of the international coalition there seems to be an agreement just in the last couple of hours around fish which is that border crossing of iraq into syria that federal forces will be deployed there it's not a question when it comes to baghdad this is what they're going to do so dialogue is going to have to remain open both sides have said they want dialogue so i think you know the relationship with bagh

army says kirk cook's important oil fields are back in baghdad's hands. who fled are pouring back to their homes in droves. and pots and pans are banged in anger in barcelona after prominent activists are jailed in catalonia. the men remain behind bars, staging rallies in support of the controversial boost for independence. it has been ruled by islamic state group members for three years, but the city of racket has been liberated. the syrian democratic forces, backed by the u.s.-led international coalition, say that while minor sporadic gunfire still echoes through the streets, the jihadist organization has been largely pushed from the city. say that a stadium and hospital with the last bastions being clung on to buy the islamic state group. brokentions of already out, with flags being raised in the street and festivities taking place. let's get the latest from our regional correspondent, who joins us from beirut. adam, clearly a monumental day for the syrian democratic forces in the international alliance that backs them. what more do we know at this hou