Word: erbil
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...Ottoman Turks built a fortress to loom over Erbil, a city already old when they conquered it and still making history now that the Sultans of Constantinople are no more. From that citadel, Erbil last week appeared remarkably calm for a city just beset by Iraq. Banks were open, shops were doing brisk business and, except for several parliament buildings and the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (P.U.K.), the city bore almost no indications of fighting. What little evidence there was, however, spoke volumes. A bust of Jalal Talabani, the P.U.K. leader, was beheaded at a road junction...
...initial stages the Iraqi attack appeared quite formidable. "We watched the assault from the roof of our building," explained Paul Pouldahl, a U.N. official based in Erbil. "A huge number of Iraqi tanks were advancing on the city. It was a major show of force." That was Aug. 31. On the morning of Sept. 1, however, the Iraqis began to pull back. And by last Monday the 40,000 troops had all but vanished. The only thing left behind was a mobile armored battalion, which positioned its tanks and artillery about 15 miles southeast of the city. "They...
...door to Iraq. In an exclusive interview with Time, Barzani, who has always believed in a federal union with Iraq, cited the Iranian involvement. "All we have done is to defend ourselves against the foreign threat of invasion." Speaking at the resort of Asalahuddin, 18 miles north of Erbil, he said, "We are still willing to cooperate with America if it is really serious." He does not rule out the possibility of mending fences with Talabani--nor has he given up on the dream of a Kurdish homeland. "Hopelessness is a kind of death. We must always have hope...
Despite the calm in Erbil, few believed the crisis had passed. On Thursday morning in Degala, 15 miles beyond the Iraqi encampment southeast of Erbil, K.D.P. and P.U.K. peshmerga [those who face death] battled for control of a critical bridge. On Friday both sides were still shelling each other. Yet these battles produced few casualties and even fewer refugees. In fact the biggest headache for Erbil's nearly half a million residents was that almost all water had been cut off by the P.U.K., which controls the dam outside of town. The streets were choked with water trucks, while...
...quintessential gonzo reporter." A longtime Nairobi bureau chief, Wilde was based in Istanbul during the Gulf War, during which he covered the plight of the Kurds. This week he delivers that story's next chapter, slipping into Kurdistan to report on Saddam Hussein's attack on the town of Erbil. The report includes an exclusive interview with Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish faction allied with Iraq. "He had to negotiate for the interview," says an amazed Chua-Eoan of Wilde. "But the Kurds remembered his story from five years ago, so that probably clinched...