PARIS, March 29 (V7N) –  French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged that every effort be made to prevent Iraq from being dragged into the escalating Middle East conflict, following a deadly strike in northern Iraq.  

Posting on X after speaking with Nechirvan Barzani, President of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, Macron said: “Everything must be done to avoid Iraq being drawn into the current escalation.”  

The strike targeted the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a former paramilitary group now integrated into Iraq’s army but which includes pro-Iran factions. The PMF said three of its fighters were killed in what it described as a US-Israeli attack.  

Macron also condemned a drone strike earlier Saturday against Barzani’s official residence, calling it “unacceptable.” He warned that the incident added to a rise in attacks against Iraqi institutions, citing the killing of six Peshmerga fighters in an Iranian missile strike earlier in the Week.  

Iran has expressed concern that armed Kurdish groups in northern Iraq could be deployed through its own Kurdish region, which borders Iraq in the west.  

END/WD/RH