548
Iran
- The Iranian regime, in its continuing crackdown on Kurdish political activity, arrested an environmental activist from Dehgolan named Sirwan Rahimi last week. Concurrently, in Sanandaj, Iranian security forces detained nine social media activists who were accused of “disrupting national security.” The Iranian regime has criminalized criticism of the government on social media and bans all social media applications except for Telegram, which is periodically blocked by Iranian authorities. Iranian security forces in Sanandaj also arrested the head of the taxi union, Ibrahim Piri, for attempts to organize a taxi drivers’ strike. Dozens of protests against poor labor conditions have taken place in Iran’s Kurdish region over the last two years. Separately, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) arrested a Kurdish man from Marivan. The Iranian authorities in Piranshahr arrested an Iranian Kurd named Mohamed Amin Khezry. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK), the Iranian regime has arrested 287 Kurdish political, labor, and environmental activists since the beginning of 2019.
Iraq
- Islamic State (Da’esh) terrorists continued to exploit the deteriorating security situation in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” last week. On September 24, a Da’esh attack killed one Iraqi Shiite militiamen and wounded three. Additionally, on September 27, Da’esh snipers and guerrillas attacked Iraqi border guards. In Makhasi village, near Khanaqin, three Kurdish shepherds were mistakenly killed by border guards following a Da’esh operation targeting Iraqi security forces. Meanwhile, Kurdish political parties held several meetings and eventually agreed to form a united list and coalition including nine Kurdish parties for the upcoming provincial election in the “Disputed Territories.” Simultaneously, Najmaldin Karim, the former governor of Kirkuk Province, announced plans to run in the upcoming elections as an independent with his own list.
- The Kurdistan Parliament announced plans to send committees to Baghdad to continue talks regarding various disputes between the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Kurdistan Parliament also passed a law granting lawmakers the authority to continue serving as members of parliament in the event they break away from their party blocs. The Council of Representatives of Iraq previously passed a similar law. Meanwhile, the Minister of Peshmerga held a meeting with the US Consulate General in Erbil and announced two years of continuing US support for Peshmerga forces as part of Iraq’s defense system.
Syria
- The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) released a statement denouncing its exclusion from the Syrian Constitutional Committee. The statement read, “With regard to the commission announced by the United Nations (UN) on the preparation of the Syrian Constitution, we emphasize in the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern of Syria that this committee does not take into account in terms of the composition of the Syrian people and diversity.” The Syrian Democratic Council previously expressed a similar view on the committee, which was announced with the agreement of the UN, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The committee, which the US has expressed support for, consists of 150 members, including 50 from the Syrian regime, 50 from opposition and extremist groups, and 50 selected by the United Nations. That said, as previously mentioned, the committee fails to include representatives from the AANES or the region’s other Kurdish groups. Northeastern Syria’s Christians, represented by the Syriacs in the AANES, also rejected the results of the committee, with the Syriac Union stating, “Exclusion of the will of the actors on the ground and the exclusion of their project of bringing about the required democratic change.”
- Riots broke out in the al Hawl camp which hosts a sizeable population of Da’esh operatives and family members. The chaos started when female members of the terror organization launched a covert Islamic court inside the camp and began trying other women for violations of “Islamic” law. As local security forces raided the camp to restore order, several female Da’esh operatives opened fire on them with firearms that had been smuggled into the camp. The local security forces were eventually able to gain control of the situation and announced the capture of 50 Da’esh women, One Da’esh operative was also killed and six were wounded during the unrest. The AANES has repeatedly called for the international community to take back their citizens and set up an international tribunal. Al Hawl camp currently hosts around 71,000 residents and, in addition to containing large numbers of Da’esh-linked individuals, holds a sizeable population of internally displaced people (IDP) that are vulnerable to Da’esh recruiting initiatives.
Turkey
- The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) held additional protests against the Turkish government’s removal and replacement of elected Kurdish mayors last week. On Wednesday, Turkish police dispersed an HDP organized “Democracy Vigil” in Istanbul by attacking the vigil’s participants with rubber bullets and tear gas. Meanwhile, protests continued in front of the municipalities in Mardin, Diyarbakir, and Van. On Monday, police attacked protesters in Mardin city and arrested a number of HDP members. Simultaneously, in Dersim, police raids resulted in the detainment of four HDP members, including the HDP’s city co-chairs. Turkish authorities also arrested two HDP members in Diyarbakir and eight more in Mardin on Monday.