The Iraqi Army was deployed to the Yezidi town of Sinjar yesterday to provide security alongside the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)-affiliated Sinjar Protection Units hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the start of his own operation in the north of Iraq. The PKK has been withdrawing since its umbrella group, the KCK, announced its fighters were leaving last week. Further Iraqi Army forces are expected to move in soon to take over positions previously manned by the PKK on the Iraq-Syria border.
Meanwhile, The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday promised changes to austerity measures which had been adopted since 2015 following wide-spread protests by civil servants across the Kurdistan Region. In a statement following a meeting with the Council of Ministers, the KRG explained it was planning to make changes to the salaries of public employees next week, adding it had assigned relevant authorities to take the necessary steps. Civil servants across the Kurdistan Region took to the streets on Sunday in protest, calling for an end to austerity measures and salary delays.
Lastly, good luck to all our Egyptian listeners as they begin three days of voting today to elect a new president. There are few doubts that incumbent Abdul Fattah al-Sisi will win after most opposition candidates withdrew however. The only other candidate is little-known centrist politician Mousa Mostafa Mousa who is also known to be a supporter Sisi.
