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After 18 months covering the battle against Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq, Emilienne Malfatto felt compelled to show a less-violent side of the war-torn nation. And she found one in Chibayish, a small district in the Mesopotamian marshes.

When you say Iraq, people just think war: the two wars in Baghdad or bombings, Ms. Malfatto said. But you also have this beautiful place with beautiful people. Its like another face of Iraq.

The marshlands, comprising a nearly 8,000-square-mile area, are at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Their denizens, the Madan also known as the Marsh Arabs live free from threats posed elsewhere by ISIS and militias.

She had first journeyed to Chibayish in late 2016, going alone to develop rapport and trust with members of the community. She benefited both from her command of the language and by being female. Women were quick to embrace and engage her, Ms. Malfatto said, explaining that a male stranger would not elicit that same quick trust or openness.

People were really willing to open up, said Ms. Malfatto, who extolled the Madans remarkable hospitality. She forged strong bonds with several families who offered shelter in their reed houses, provided food and arranged boat rides into the marshes, which she described as having a mythical quality. She also made sure to be respectful of their conservative customs.

I am absolutely not a religious person, and I am quite fascinated by faith as an object of study, she said. In particular, she was struck by the levity that accompanied daily prayer, and by the way such worship was integrated into everyday moments. She hopes her portrayal of Muslims will be a counterbalance to the current stigmatization of Islam in political debate and the media.

The families gave Ms. Malfatto intimate access to everyday life in the marshes, including a family eating a breakfast of fresh buffalo milk, sugary tea and homemade bread; boat drivers piloting along murky waters; and portraits of Madan women with well-worn faces and hands.

The last few decades have brought changes to the Iraqi marshlands. Once, they had been a tourist destination, home to a variety of wildlife. But in the 1990s, Saddam Hussein drained the marshlands in an attempt to flush out Shiite rebels who had fled there after the Persian Gulf war of 1991.

After U.S. forces toppled Husseins regime in 2003, the Madan returned to the marshes, destroying the dams and dikes that had been constructed. Water again flowed through the area, once more allowing vegetation and livestock to thrive.

However, threats to the marshlands remain, a result of climate change and dam construction on the rivers. Rising temperatures have led to large amounts of water evaporation. Construction of newer dams upriver in Turkey, where the headwaters of the Tigris and the Euphrates are located, has also reduced the rivers flow.

Twice in the last 10 years in 2008 and in 2015 those conditions led to the marshes nearly vanishing. Its likely they will dry up yet again, perhaps this time for good. And though Iraq is still grappling with ISIS and war recovery, Ms. Malfatto hopes that the threat to the Madan and their livelihood will not go ignored.

Iraq has other problems, she said. Maybe they think they have more important stuff to deal with. On the other hand, they cannot let this part of the country die.

Follow @emalfatto and @nytimesphoto on Twitter. You can also find Lens on Facebook and Instagram.

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In the Marshlands, 'Another Face of Iraq' - New York Times (blog)

Trudeau said: Its also something to be understood as being entirely consistent with what Canada is expected to be doing as part of the coalition against Daesh. Photograph: Canadian Press`/Rex/Shutterstock

A record-shattering lethal shot fired by a Canadian sniper in Iraq has reignited a longstanding debate over Canadas role in the region, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau telling reporters it was entirely consistent with the countrys non-combat mission and should be celebrated.

Last week, the defence department confirmed reports that a Canadian sniper had shot an Isis militant from 3,540 metres (2 miles) away. The shot surpassed the previous world military record for the longest confirmed kill held by a British sniper who took aim at a Taliban fighter in 2009 by more than a kilometre.

Officials said the sniper was a member of the Canadian militarys elite counter-terrorism unit. The shot was fired last month after Canadian snipers noticed that Isis fighters were poised to ambush Iraqi security forces, according to the Globe and Mail.

The news rekindled a long running debate based on a 2015 campaign promise by the Liberals, led by Trudeau, to end Canadas combat mission in Iraq.

Months after sweeping into power, they said they were doing just that; pulling Canadas six fighter jets out of the US-led coalition against Islamic State and instead putting roughly 200 special forces troops on the ground to support Kurdish forces in Iraq.

But questions as to what exactly this support entails have continued to plague the Liberals, particularly after Gen Jonathan Vance, Canadas chief of defence staff, told a parliamentary committee in November that Canadian troops have been allowed to fire first against Isis militants. We dont have to be shot at first, he said. We can take the first shot if it is to save lives.

The recent news of the sniper casts further doubt on the governments assertion, said Tom Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic party, last week. Has your definition of combat changed since forming government? Mulcair asked in a letter to Trudeau, adding: Canadians deserve no less than to know the true extent of our involvement in Iraq.

Reporters put those concerns to Trudeau on Tuesday. The prime minister began by addressing the kill shot. What happened there is, first of all, something to be celebrated for the excellence of the Canadian forces in their training, in the performance of their duties, he said. But its also something to be understood as being entirely consistent with what Canada is expected and Canadians expect our forces to be doing as part of the coalition against Daesh.

The sniper had been defending Iraqi and Kurdish forces when he took the shot, said Trudeau. The advise-and-assist mission that our forces are engaged in in northern Iraq has always had an element of defence of, obviously, Canadian troops and of our coalition partners.

Mulcair said he remained unconvinced. You cant have people shooting people to death on the frontlines and still claim this is not a combat mission, he told the Globe and Mail.

He said he was surprised to hear the prime ministers view on the sniper. It is certainly not part of my values to say that we should be celebrating the death of a human being, no matter what the circumstances.

The renewed debate comes just days before the mandate guiding Canadas mission to Iraq is set to expire. The Liberal government is expected to announce either an extension or changes to the mission shortly.

Originally posted here:
Sniper's record kill shot in Iraq 'should be celebrated', Trudeau says - The Guardian

WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) - A Warren woman is in the fight of her life because every day could be her last.

Thirty-eight-year-old Mirvet Bahoura is battling a rare auto-immune disease, which requires daily medication - and a bone marrow transplant at any given moment.

In something most, would call a miracle, Mirvet found a match in her 55-year-old uncle, Ghassan Kassab.

He's already saved her life, not once but twice.

But on June 11th, a routine visit to ice, turned into a nightmare, which could be a matter of life and death for them both.

Kassab was detained because of his past criminal record and is now being held behind bars in Arizona, with the threat of being deported back to Iraq.

So now, her uncle -- her donor and lifesaver is gone.

"He's not here to provide and then I have to be put on a waiting list and that can take years and years and especially like with Mediterranean, Middle Eastern it's hard to find a match like that," says Mirvet Bahoura, tearfully.

Kassab did have a drug conviction two decades ago, and a DUI conviction almost 10 years ago.

According to a court of law, he has paid his debt to society.

Kassab has been in this country since he was 6-years-old and does not want to return to Iraq.

Mervit and her family have been working with CODE Legal Aid. They have helped them to secure legal counsel, with hope of bringing their case before the immigration court and bring her uncle back home.

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Man facing deportation to Iraq is only available donor for his ill niece - WXYZ

ISTANBUL Turkish forces retaliated with an artillery barrage overnight and destroyed Kurdish YPG militia targets after the group's fighters opened fire on Turkey-backed forces in northern Syria, the military said on Wednesday.

It said Turkish warplanes separately struck Kurdish militants in northern Iraq on Wednesday, killing seven fighters from the PKK group which Ankara says is closely linked to the YPG.

The strikes came after Turkey's defense minister warned that Ankara would retaliate against any threatening moves by the YPG and after reports that Turkey was reinforcing its military presence in northern Syria.

The United States supports the YPG in the fight against Islamic State in Syria, while NATO ally Turkey regards them as terrorists indistinguishable from militants from the outlawed PKK which is carrying out an insurgency in southeast Turkey.

Turkey's army said YPG machine-gun fire on Tuesday evening targeted Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army elements in the Maranaz area south of the town of Azaz in northern Syria.

"Fire support vehicles in the region were used to retaliate in kind against the harassing fire and the identified targets were destroyed/neutralised," the military statement said.

The boom of artillery fire could be heard overnight from the Turkish border town of Kilis, broadcaster Haberturk said. It was not clear whether there were casualties in the exchange of fire.

Ankara was angered by a U.S. decision in June to arm the YPG in the battle for Islamic State's Raqqa stronghold. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that nations which promised to get back weapons from the YPG once Islamic State were defeated were trying to trick Turkey.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday left open the possibility of longer-term assistance to the YPG, saying the U.S. may need to supply them weapons and equipment even after the capture of Raqqa.

Ankara considers the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The PKK has carried out an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and more than 40,000 people, most of them Kurds, have died in the fighting.

Turkish warplanes on Wednesday morning destroyed PKK shelters and gun positions during air strikes in the Avasin-Basyan area of northern Iraq, killing seven militants planning an attack on Turkish border outposts, an army statement said.

Faced with turmoil across its southern border, Turkey last year sent troops into Syria to support Free Syrian Army rebels fighting both Islamic State and Kurdish forces who control a large part of Syria's northern border region.

Erdogan has said Turkey would not flinch from taking tougher action against the YPG in Syria if Turkey believed it needed to.

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun, Tulay Karadeniz and Omer Berberoglu, Writing by Daren Butler and David Dolan,; Editing by Ed Osmond and Richard Balmforth)

TOKYO An ally of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied on Thursday receiving secret political donations from an educational institution at the core of a scandal over suspected favoritism that has sliced Abe's support ratings ahead of a key local poll.

SYDNEY/VATICAN CITY Australian police charged a top adviser to Pope Francis with multiple historical sex crimes on Thursday, in a case that poses a dilemma for a pontiff who has vowed zero tolerance for such offences.

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Turkey returns fire on YPG in Syria, warplanes hit militants in Iraq - Reuters

Nicholas Dugan of California looks at the new McMillan Tac-50 A1-R2 rifle on display at the McMillan Firearms Manufacturing booth at the National Shooting Sports Foundations 34th annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show at the Sands Expo and Convention Center January 17, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

OTTAWA, Canada Canadas supposed non-combat role in Iraq is being questioned after a special forces sniper took out an ISIS fighter in Iraq.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday would have none of it, saying Canadian troops training Kurdish fighters have orders to also fight in defense of coalition soldiers.

I can tell you that defending our allies in the coalition has been an integral part of our mission, Trudeau told a press conference marking the end of the parliamentary session.

This is completely in keeping with our responsibilities as Canadians, as members of the coalition in northern Iraq and it will continue to be that way, he said.

The military confirmed to AFP that a member of its Joint Task Force 2 unit deployed in Iraq had successfully hit a target from 3,540 meters, or 2.2 miles.

According to a media report, the soldier was positioned on a high-rise rooftop last month and, using a McMillan TAC-50 rifle, killed an ISIS fighter who was attacking Iraqi soldiers.

Since then, opposition parties have used the incident to challenge the governments claim that JTF2s mission is simply to advise and assist Kurdish militia, and accused Trudeau of waging a secret war without parliaments nod.

It seriously calls into question your governments claim that Canadian forces are not involved in direct combat in Iraq, New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair said in a letter to the prime minister.

Trudeaus Liberals came to power in 2015 promising to end Canadian airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq.

At the same time, preferring to support the Iraqis in their fight, over direct military intervention, the government tripled the number of Canadian military trainers on the ground to more than 200.CBB

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Sniper's shot puts focus on Canada's Iraq role - Inquirer.net