The crisis in Iraq – At least 20.000 of the 40.000 Yazidi minority trapped in the mountains for days have found a gap in the Sinjar mountains. Already on Saturday the Kurdish fighters, thanks to American help, had opened a first corridor as an escape route, a passage which has widened and managed to save half of the refugees. But 500 people, mostly women and children, died under the attacks of the Islamic State militiamen, found in a giant mass grave. Some of them, said Iraqi human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, were buried alive, including women and children. Another 300 women were kidnapped and enslaved by ISIS militiamen. According to the spokesman for Unicef in Iraq, Karim Elkorany, at least 56 children have died of dehydration after a week without water and little food. According to some sources, 300 families from the villages of Koja, Hatimiya and Qaboshi, around 4.000 people, have been surrounded by militiamen, who threaten to kill them if they don't convert to Islam.
Thanks to the ground prepared by the American raids that destroyed several Isis checkpoints and weapons, the Kurdish forces managed to reconquer two cities in the north of the country: Guwair and Makhmur. But the Kurds have to deal with isolated attacks. Indeed, on Sunday evening a suicide bomber blew himself up killing at least 10 Kurdish fighters (peshmerga) and wounding 80 people in Jalawla, a town just 80 km north-east of Baghdad.
The United States struck twice on Islamic State militias in Iraq on Sunday in the third day of airstrikes. The first bombardment was with drones and fighter jets carrying out four strikes eliminating armored vehicles and a truck that had opened fire on civilians, as well as several mortar positions. The US central command reported that the militiamen were "shooting indiscriminately" at Yazidi civilians seeking shelter in the Sinjar mountains. A few hours later the second raid: also in this case the air force hit the Sunni militias near Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to Pentagon reports, two F/A-18s dropped 225-kilogram laser-guided bombs. And in Erbil, according to what the State Department announced, the US has decided to evacuate part of the consulate staff due to the "deterioration of security" in the north of the country and American citizens have been asked to avoid non-essential trips to Iraq.
The crisis in Gaza – First the Palestinian negotiators, then also Israel in Cairo accepted the Egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour truce which will start from midnight on Sunday (Italian time). The decision aims to pave the way for a long-term truce with the Jewish state. Egypt's Mena news agency also reported that the Palestinian delegation will stop in Cairo for an urgent meeting on Monday with the Arab League on the crisis in Gaza. Hamas has announced that for a lasting truce, negotiations will have to focus on the total lifting of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. A request that Tel Aviv will hardly be able to accept in the terms requested by Hamas. The Israeli government, on the other hand, will wait to see if the ceasefire is respected before returning its negotiators to the Egyptian capital, reiterating its position of not wanting to negotiate under rocket fire from Hamas. Earlier, Palestinian representatives had repeatedly said they were ready to abandon talks in Egypt and return home for "consultations" unless Israel agreed to return to the negotiating table today without setting preconditions. On the other hand, Israel has repeatedly reiterated that it would not have taken any steps towards a diplomatic decision if the Hamas fire had not stopped.
First the Palestinian negotiators, then also Israel in Cairo accepted the Egyptian proposal for a new 72-hour truce which will start from midnight on Sunday (Italian time). The decision aims to pave the way for a long-term truce with the Jewish state. Egypt's Mena news agency also reported that the Palestinian delegation will stop in Cairo for an urgent meeting on Monday with the Arab League on the crisis in Gaza. Hamas has announced that for a lasting truce, negotiations will have to focus on the total lifting of the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. A request that Tel Aviv will hardly be able to accept in the terms requested by Hamas. The Israeli government, on the other hand, will wait to see if the ceasefire is respected before returning its negotiators to the Egyptian capital, reiterating its position of not wanting to negotiate under rocket fire from Hamas. Earlier, Palestinian representatives had repeatedly said they were ready to abandon talks in Egypt and return home for "consultations" unless Israel agreed to return to the negotiating table today without setting preconditions. On the other hand, Israel has repeatedly reiterated that it would not have taken any steps towards a diplomatic decision if the Hamas fire had not stopped.
