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                News  Close (index.html#)       (index.html#)  Just In (share_on_your_website) (share_on_your_website) Copy/paste the script below  (<iframe src="http://www.africanews.com/embed/timeline/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="min-height:500px; width:100%; height:100%;"></iframe>)  (http://www.africanews.com/page/widgets/) OTHER WIDGETS       September 16, 2026  21:50   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/at-least-82-people-killed-in-gold-mine-collapse-in-sudans-west-kordofan/) (At least 82 people killed in gold mine collapse in Sudan's West Kordofan) At least 82 people killed in gold mine collapse in Sudan's West Kordofan      20:52   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/akinbode-akinbiyi-turns-everyday-african-life-into-art/) (Akinbode Akinbiyi turns everyday african life into art) Akinbode Akinbiyi turns everyday african life into art      20:24   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/kinshasa-opposition-protest-dispersed-as-clashes-leave-one-dead/) (Kinshasa opposition protest dispersed as clashes leave one dead) Kinshasa opposition protest dispersed as clashes leave one dead     Advertising     18:13   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/lionel-messi-set-for-emotional-farewell-as-argentina-faces-benin/) (Lionel Messi set for emotional farewell as Argentina faces Benin) Lionel Messi set for emotional farewell as Argentina faces Benin      17:14   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/yemen-fighting-forces-thousands-into-makeshift-camps-as-displacement-surges/) (Yemen fighting forces thousands into makeshift camps as displacement surges) Yemen fighting forces thousands into makeshift camps as displacement surges      17:12   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/more-than-12-trillion-tons-of-ice-lost-as-climate-change-accelerates-polar-melt/) (More than 12 trillion tons of ice lost as climate change accelerates polar melt) More than 12 trillion tons of ice lost as climate change accelerates polar melt      17:12   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/edouard-mendy-set-to-retire-from-senegal-duty-after-59-caps/) (Edouard Mendy set to retire from Senegal duty after 59 caps) Edouard Mendy set to retire from Senegal duty after 59 caps      16:07   (index.html) (US military set to end decades-long presence in country in Iraq) US military set to end decades-long presence in country in Iraq      14:05   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/south-africans-voice-growing-concerns-over-ais-rapid-rise/) (South Africans voice growing concerns over AI’s rapid rise) South Africans voice growing concerns over AI’s rapid rise      12:59   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/senegal-inks-deal-with-italian-energy-giant-eni-to-study-5-offshore-blocks/) (Senegal inks deal with Italian energy giant Eni to study 5 offshore blocks) Senegal inks deal with Italian energy giant Eni to study 5 offshore blocks      12:40   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/police-intensify-hunt-after-eighth-woman-found-dead-in-ekurhuleni/) (Police intensify hunt after eighth woman found dead in Ekurhuleni) Police intensify hunt after eighth woman found dead in Ekurhuleni      12:26   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/ed-sheerans-tour-in-shambles-as-supporting-acts-pull-out-over-free-speech-row/) (Ed Sheeran's tour in shambles as supporting acts pull out over free speech row) Ed Sheeran's tour in shambles as supporting acts pull out over free speech row      12:05   (http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/olu-jacobs-veteran-of-nigerian-and-british-screen-dies-aged-84/) (Olu Jacobs, veteran of Nigerian and British screen, dies aged 84) Olu Jacobs, veteran of Nigerian and British screen, dies aged 84     Advertising       View more          (http://www.africanews.com/programmes/news/) News    (http://www.africanews.com/programmes/news/) (news)  US military set to end decades-long presence in country in Iraq          (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/us-military-set-to-end-decades-long-presence-in-country-in-iraq/)    (https://twitter.com/home?status=http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/us-military-set-to-end-decades-long-presence-in-country-in-iraq/)    (https://plus.google.com/share?url=http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/us-military-set-to-end-decades-long-presence-in-country-in-iraq/)    (mailto:?subject=US military set to end decades-long presence in country in Iraq&body=http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/us-military-set-to-end-decades-long-presence-in-country-in-iraq/)    (whatsapp://send?text=http://www.africanews.com/2026/09/16/us-military-set-to-end-decades-long-presence-in-country-in-iraq/)      FILE - A U.S. army soldier flashes a V for victory sign as he begins his journey home, at the al-Asad Air Base west of Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 1 , 2011. -  Copyright © africanews  AP2011    (https://twitter.com/africanews) By Rédaction Africanews and AP    Last updated: 11 hours ago    (http://www.africanews.com/country/iraq/) Iraq    Two deadlines are looming for Iraq at the end of the month: the end of a decades-long U.S. military presence and the disarmament of non-state armed groups. The U.S. withdrawal is underway, and officials say the hundreds of troops remaining in northern Iraq will be out by the Sept. 30 deadline.  The Iraqi government has linked the U.S. withdrawal to an ultimatum for militias to lay down their weapons. But most have indicated they have no plans to do so. That leaves major questions about what the day after will look like in Iraq. Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have struck U.S.-linked targets both inside and outside of Iraq since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.  They also have coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia. With the war between the U.S. and Iran raging, Tehran is unlikely to give up the leverage it has in neighboring Iraq. U.S. officials are concerned about the militias' ability to continue carrying out attacks — but not enough to delay their withdrawal. U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.      They departed in 2011, but three years later, Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission to fight the Islamic State group, which had rampaged across Iraq, seizing large swaths of territory. With the group now reduced to scattered sleeper cells — a result of the intervention of Iran-backed militias as well as the U.S.-led coalition — the U.S. and Iraq agreed in 2024 to wind the mission down.  U.S. troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a presence in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. Meanwhile, Iraqi government officials have vacillated over whether Sept. 30 is a hard deadline for disarmament of militias or merely the starting point for negotiations. “There will be no disarming of any groups by the 30th of September,” said Iraqi analyst Sajad Jiyad, speaking at a panel convened by the Atlantic Center think tank last week. “I think that’s probably clear to anybody who watches Iraqi politics.”  A handful of less-influential militias have agreed to turn over their weapons. But the most powerful groups — and closest to Iran — Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have rejected the prospect or set conditions for disarming that they know the government is unlikely to meet in the near future. Those include bringing the Kurdish peshmerga security forces in northern Iraq under control of the central government’s military and expelling Iranian Kurdish dissident groups and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, that have bases in the region.  A government official said the government’s strategy currently focuses on bringing armed factions under the control of the Iraqi military. Already many of the militias are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of armed groups that is officially part of the Iraqi armed forces, although the individual militias often act on their own.     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