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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- At least five Kurdish activists were arrested by Iranian intelligence during ongoing raids last week, according to local human rights organizations. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association Association (KMMK) three Kurds were arrested in Shino (Oshnavieh) and taken to an undisclosed location on two different raids. In addition, the wife of jailed Kurdish activist Zaniar Dabaghian was also arrested in Sanandaj, according to Hengaw for Human Rights. The Iranian intelligence office (Ettela’at) also threatened the family of Kawa Saqqazy, a Kurdish activist who fled to Iraqi Kurdistan. The KMMK said the Ettela’at told Saqqazy’s family that will either be assassinated or captured, along with his wife, and forced to return to Iran to stand trial.
- Two Kurdish women were executed on Monday for “sexual intercourse.” The Islamic regime laws prohibits sexual relations without marriage. The Islamic court in West Azerbaijan Province sentenced the women after they were arrested in 2017.
- In the past week, Iranian border guards ambushed a number of border porters (Kolbars) near Azgala-Kermanshah. The attacks resulted in the death of one Kurdish Kolbar and the injury of two more. The wounded Kolbars are in critical conditions. One Kolbar from Urmia lost his life after been hospitalized when border guards shot him three weeks ago. According to the Hengaw Organization, in October alone, eight Kolbars have been killed by direct fire from Iranian Border guards while 17 were injured and another died of frostbite.
- After a new wave of sanctions by the U.S. against the Iranian regime, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will be following the federal government’s decision. Trade between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran continued on Monday, November 5; however, there was a significant decrease in exported goods — mainly because of Iran’s ban on certain goods. Iraq is part of the nine countries exempted from the sanctions on Iran.
Iraq
- After the end of the parliamentary period, the Kurdistan Region’s lawmakers passed a law granting each lawmaker a bonus of 48000 million Iraqi Dinar ($40,000). The move by the former lawmakers sparked anger among the public. On November 3, a number of activists and civil society organization representatives held a protest against the decision and called for the cancelation of the decision. This past parliamentary period was considered the most dysfunctional period in comparison to previous ones as far as effective legislating (or the lack thereof). On Tuesday, the newly elected parliament held its first session which was designated for the parliamentary oath. While the unofficial talks among the parties to form the government initiated, there remains no clear indication on how the coalition will play out. According to several members of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP), 45 seats will not form the cabinet without the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). But they also encouraged the opposition parties like the Change Party (Gorran) and the Islamic Group (Komal) to join the coalition. The Islamic Union Party (Yakgirtu) and the New Generation Party decided to be in the parliament as an opposition power for the next four years.
- As the security situation has deteriorated in Kirkuk since October 16, 2017 after Iranian-backed militias took control of the province, more terror attacks have taken place, especially in Hawija district. An IED hit two power stations at al Saiha village-Hawija district which resulted in damage to the power supply of the area. Another IED exploded on an electricity technician while he was attempting to fix a power line near Abdullah village- Haweja. In Hawija district, ISIS terrorists also launched a series of assassinations against village directors, known as Mukhtar. In Daquq, tensions and physical fights took place between Kurdish farmers and members of the Arabs tribes who tried to re-occupy the Kurdish lands after the acting governor of Kirkuk released a memorandum encouraging the Arabs to farm on the Kurdish lands (a practice which has been banned since 2004). The land dispute goes back to the Saddam Dictatorship era when Saddam Arabized Kirkuk and granted Kurdish lands to Arab tribes. On Friday two Kurds were slain after they were taken by men with uniforms to a village near Taqtaq. The Kurdistan Security Council released a statement warning about the recent and increased terror attacks by ISIS. According to the statement, “tracked security incidents from October signals a reemergence of VBIED-based attacks in Kirkuk and Mosul.” In the Kurdish city of Khanaqin-Diyala province, three explosions occurred in one day targeting a holy shrine. The terror attacks left 2 women dead also destroyed the shrine.
Syria
- Turkey continued its attacks on Kobane and Tal Abyad (Giri Spi). These attacks often hit villages of both areas. On November 1, the Turkish army fired live bullets inside Giri Spi town. On November 2, two Kurdish journalists were injured by Turkish gunfire in the same town. On November 3 and 5, the Turkish army hit Sosak village west of Giri Spi. The attacks resulted in the death of a 6-year -old child (Sarah Mustafa) in Tel Fender village. In response to Turkey’s recent escalation of violence, Kurdish fights and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have voiced concerns, as they continue fighting in the last strongholds of ISIS control in the eastern Euphrates region. In Kobane, elements of U.S. forces with SDF patrolled the border between Turkey and Syrian Kurdistan to avoid further attacks by Turkey. Forces were on alert over these attacks, especially due to the presence of a large U.S. base in th area. The SDF temporarily suspended the fight against ISIS in Deir Ez Zor in protest of the Turkish attacks as the U.S.-led coalition called for “focusing on ISIS.” The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) denounced the Turkish attacks and released a statement on the anniversary of liberating Kobane from ISIS control in 2014. The statement said that “we also call upon the international community to take the necessary positions and actions towards Turkish threats to northern and eastern Syria.” Few demonstrations across the Kurdish region in Syria took place against the Turkish aggression as the people warned of the repeat of the Afrin invasion.
- An ISIS sleeper cell assassinated a prominent Arab (Sheikh Bashir Faisal al-Huwaidi) of Raqqa and a member of the civilian council of Raqqa which has governed the city after ISIS. Al-Huwaidi is considered the first, most senior figure to be assassinated by ISIS after the liberation of Raqqa.
Turkey
- November 4 marked the second anniversary of the Turkish government’s imprisonment of pro-Kurdish lawmakers, including the former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-chair Selahattin Demirtas. The jailed lawmakers released messages from prison. Demirtas said that “we have left behind the second year since the 4 November 2016 coup against democratic politics.” In addition, jailed Kurdish lawmaker Idris Baluken added that “the unlawful political genocide operation, which is referred to as the political coup of 4 November, continues with the same repression and methods in the current period.” The Turkish police removed newly-elected HDP lawmakers from holding a press conference from the prison where some of the HDP detainees are located. Meanwhile, more raids by the Turkish police took place against Kurdish political activists. In Batman city centre and its Gercus district Turkish forces detained several Kurds including the Co-Mayor of Batman city Sabri Özdemir.