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Iran
- The demonstrations in the Kurdish cities in Iran continued for a third week against the closure of a border crossing between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran which resulted in unemployment of thousands of people and businesses. Last week the demonstration took place in Saqez and Baneh cities where tens of Kurds chanted slogans against the regime. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association reported that during a visit by a committee of the regime to Baneh city, the people received them with anti-regime chants and laid empty dining placemats to demonstrate the closure of the border. The demonstrators also continued their rejection of the killing of the Kurdish border porter, known as Kolbars. On April 30, tens of Kurdish demonstrators called upon the mayor of of Baneh to resgin. In 2017 nearly 150 Iranian Kurdish Kolbars were killed in Iran.
Iraq
- After two weeks of the election campaigns, the competition among the parties in the Kurdistan region escalates. The Erbil municipality called for more fines against the parties for violations of campaigns and mismanagement of public spaces including ads near historical areas in the city. “The procedures taken in this regard are only financial punishment. They don’t solve the problem,” Saman Mohammed, the director of Erbil municipality told Rudaw. According to Erbil municipality there are 400 recorded cases of violation by the candidate since the start of the campaigns.
- On April 24, Hoshang Mohammed the Director General of the Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC) of the KRG announced that the Kurdistan region is hosting 1.4 million internally displaced people and refugees from Syria. On the official website of the KRG, Mohammed said, ”30 percent of Iraqi IDPs and 98 percent of Syrian refugees in Iraq are in Kurdistan region.” He said that only 50 percent of the quarter million IDPs from Mosul have returned due to “security instability, threats by militias, lack of existence of strong management, lack of basic services, tribal issues, and the increase of terror attacks in the liberated areas.” Mohammed also said the KRG have coordination with the United Nations to support the IDPs and the refugees. According to the JCC director 148 thousand IDPs were caused due to October 16 events when Iraqi military and Iranian-backed militias attacked the disputed territories.
- Kirkuk: As the security deteriorated since October 16, 201, this week an I.E.D exploded in Atshana village near Dibis district resulting in the death of two farmers. In the city of Kirkuk the security forces found a dead body after he was missing for two days. On April 24 ISIS terrorists briefly controlled Hafta Ghar village near Daquq district south of Kirkuk. Meanwhile the election campaigns continues amid complaints by the Kurdish parties about restrictions imposed by the federal forces on their campaigns. Regarding Peshmerga’s return to Kirkuk, the Baghdad appointee of Kirkuk’s security since October 16 Gen. Maan Al-Saadi denied any decision by Iraq’s prime minister Haider Abadi in that regard. On Saturday Abadi visited Kirkuk as part of his election campaign and vowed contunition of “Federal Authority” in disputed areas with the Kurdistan region. Despite recent decision by Iraq’s electoral commission for displaced families of Kirkuk and Tuzkhurmato to vote there are not clear steps how the registrations will be.
Syria
- The U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesperson Gabriel Kino announced that the SDF cleared villages of the Syrian regime forces backed by Russia in the countryside of Deir ez Zor. The SDF spokesperson accused the regime of hindering the SDF efforts to expel ISIS in remaining villages in Deir Ez Zor. “As our Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are preparing to complete “al-Jazeera Tempest” campaign to liberate the remaining areas of al-Jazeera from the grip of terrorist organization and secure the eastern border of Syria, the Syrian regime army and its militias began targeting our forces in Deir ez Zor countryside along the Euphrates River in order to block the launch of our campaign against terrorism,” said a statement by Kino. The Syrian regime attacks on the SDF took place on Saturday April 28 in four villages in Deir Ez Zor. On May 1, the SDF officially announced resuming the liberation campaign of “al Jazeera Tempest” to clear ISIS from the area in support of the U.S. led coalition.
- After violations committed by the Turkish military and their extremist allies against the Kurdish population in Afrin, the Northern Syrian Federation sent a public letter to each of Stephane de Mistura, the United Nations envoy to Syria, and the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres. In the letter the Kurdish Syrian officials called upon them to get involved to stop the violation of displacements of the people and the demographic changes that are facing Afrin. The letter accused Turkey and their Jihadi allies of “the genocide of the Syrian people in general and the Kurds in particular in Afrin.” Last week raids and arrests took place against civilians in Afrin by Turkish backed Jihadi groups for being part of the former Kurdish administration in Afrin before it was occupied by Turkey.
Turkey
- On April 25, the executive board of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) decided to nominate the jailed former Co-chair Selahattin Demirtas to run for Turkey’s presidency in the upcoming June election. The HDP is expected to nominate Demirtas on May 4 officially. After the news spread about HDP’s candidate, a Turkish court in Istanbul called for five years in prison against Demirtas and later postponed his trail to June 8 two weeks prior Turkey’s elections. On the upcoming elections, the current HDP Co-chair Sezai Temelli criticised the alliance between the ruling Islamic Party of Justice and Development (AKP) and the Ultranationalist party of the Nationalist Movement (MHP). He said, “the fascist AKP-MHP alliance would like to see the HDP shut down to eliminate the only party fighting for democracy.” On recent arrests against Kurdish politicians, the Turkish police arrested the Co-President of HDP in Denizli province.
- Amnesty International released a report about the situation of human rights in Turkey. “While the jailing of journalists and activists may have hit the headlines, the profound impact that Turkey’s crackdown has had on wider society is harder to quantify, but it is no less real,” highlighted the report. Meanwhile, the Turkish police detained several people in Taksim Square in Istanbul for attempting to protest the government policies on May 1 which marks Labour day in Turkey.