Shafaq News-Basra
The PopularMovement Against the Khor Abdullah Agreement* in Basra called on Monday forsummoning Kuwait’s ambassador to Baghdad after reports that Kuwaiti forcesopened fire on an Iraqi fishing boat and detained fishermen on board.
In astatement, the group, led by lawmaker Amer Abdul Jabbar, urged the Iraqigovernment to launch an official investigation into the incident, verify itscircumstances, and take diplomatic and legal measures to protect Iraqicitizens.
Describingthe reports as “another episode” of violations affecting Iraq’s sovereignty andthe rights of its citizens in territorial waters, it criticized “the lack of anofficial response,” particularly from the Foreign Ministry, to similarincidents.
It alsodemanded the fishermen’s release and urged authorities to disclose the measuresplanned to protect Iraqi fishermen and guarantee their rights underinternational law and maritime agreements, warning it would resort to “alllegal, constitutional, and peaceful means” if no concrete action is taken.
Earliertoday, a security source told Shafaq News that five Iraqi fishermen from Al-Fawdistrict in southern Basra lost contact after a Kuwaiti Coast Guard patrol firedupon their boat in Iraqi territorial waters. A similar incident was reported inMay when the head of the Iraqi Fishermen Association in Basra said Kuwaitiauthorities opened fire on Iraqi fishermen near buoy No. 11 in the KhorAbdullah area, injuring two.
*The KhorAbdullah agreement, signed by Iraq and Kuwait in 2012, regulates navigation andsecurity in the shared waterway, Iraq’s only maritime access to the Gulf and aroute linking key ports, including Umm Qasr and Grand Al-Faw, to internationalshipping. Rooted in UN Security Council Resolution 833 (1993), which definedpost-Gulf War borders, the deal remains controversial in Iraq, especially afterthe Federal Supreme Court ruled its ratification unconstitutional in 2023, renewingdebate over sovereignty, economic interests, and maritime rights.
: Iraq’s UN maritime move reopens Arab fault linesover Khor Abdullah