French President Emmanuel Macron met with Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in Paris on Saturday. After the meeting Macron advised Baghdad to begin talks and slowly dismantle the Shi’ite militias, which have been accused of human rights crimes against the Kurds and other groups in Iraq. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is now a vice president, criticized Macron’s advice and told him to stop meddling.
About half of kidnapped Yazidis are either still being held in captivity or their whereabouts are unknown, according to the Kurdish Ministry of Religious Affairs
At least 166 more people were killed, and nine were wounded in recent violence:
In the Jazira residential complex south of Sinjar, a mass grave containing the bodies of mostly Yazidi victims yielded 80 bodies.
A mass grave near Sinjar in Kabusi held 20 children and 40 women, also Yazidis.
A bomb wounded five in Taji.
A roadside bomb in Mandali wounded two councilmen.
One soldier was wounded during an attack on a checkpoint in Kabbah.
In Qara Tapa, gunmen wounded a man.
An airstrike on Wadi Horan left 17 militants dead.
An airstrike killed five militants in Tarmiya.
In Diyala, two militants were killed.
Clashes due to militant rivalries left two dead in Metabijh.
