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Iran
- The Iranian regime continued its crackdown on the activities of Kurdish border porters known as Kolbars last week. On Wednesday, Iranian authorities ambushed a group of Kolbars near Javanrud and shot and killed a Kurdish man named Namdar Slahzada while he was transporting cargo in his vehicle. On Thursday, a Kolbar named Jwad Nazhad was attacked by Iranian border guards near the border town of Nowsud and died after falling from a cliff. Iranian authorities also wounded a Kolbar on Sunday near Baneh. The Iranian regime has killed 60 Kolbars and wounded at least 119 since the beginning of 2019.
- Last Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia sentenced five Kurds to one year in prison for “aiding Kurdish opposition parties” and “supporting propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” Jalal Sourman, Yadgar Jaafer, Yassen Karimi, Himan Mohammadi, and Pouria Nasri were arrested last summer by Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) in Urmia and Sanandaj. Urmia’s Islamic Revolutionary Court previously sentenced a Kurdish man from Maku named Meherdad Abdullahzada to 30 years in prison for “disruption of national security.” Likewise, the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Ilam sentenced a Kurdish man, Ahmed Shokri, to one year in prison for organizing a demonstration against Turkey’s invasion of Syria’s Kurdish region. Concurrently, on Wednesday, Iranian authorities arrested a Kurdish labor activist named Saman Malaki in Sanandaj. Iranian security forces also arrested a Kurdish literature scholar named Amen Massori. Massori was previously sentenced to two years in prison, but free on bail prior to his most recent arrest.
Iraq
- Iraq’s Kurds intensified their boycott of Turkish goods in protest of Turkey’s invasion of Syria last week. In Sulaymaniyah, local artists released songs encouraging residents to boycott Turkish products. Simultaneously, in Erbil and Dohuk, citizens continued the boycott in spite of an immense drop in the prices of Turkish products while local merchants released videos and statements on social media vowing to stop importing from Turkey. Meanwhile, around 70 truckloads of humanitarian aid have been collected in Iraqi Kurdistan and sent to northeastern Syria thus far.
- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced the arrival of a new wave of Syrian Kurdish refugees fleeing Turkey’s incursion into Rojava last week. Last week’s arrivals brought the total official number of displaced persons in Iraqi Kurdistan to 10,839, most of whom are settled in Erbil and Dohuk. The KRG also previously denounced the Turkish invasion of Syrian Kurdistan.
- Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” remain plagued by a deteriorating security situation and an uptick in terrorist activity. In the Dibis District, northwest of Kirkuk, coalition planes bombed a group of ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists. Dibis was one of Kirkuk Province’s most secure districts before it was seized by Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias on October 16, 2017. In Diyala Province’s Khanagin District, several Da’esh terrorists attacked a group of Shia militiamen on Sunday and killed three. Meanwhile, in Kirkuk, Iraq’s Integrity Commission arrested seven government employees on corruption charges and issued warrants for others. The Integrity Commission accuses the administration of illegally spending provincial funds on acting governor Rakan Saeed al Jibouri’s personal activities.
Syria
- Despite Turkey’s agreement to a ceasefire with Russia and the United States, Turkish-backed jihadists continued launching attacks on Kurdish villages from the “safe zone.” Turkish airstrikes continued to support jihadist incursions launched westward into villages situated between Tal Abyad and Kobani and eastward into those between Sari Kani and Tal Tamer. Jihadists also engaged in looting in Sari Kani and several surrounding villages. The region’s Kurdish administration accused Turkish forces and their jihadist allies of stealing 48,000 tons of wheat from silos in Turkish occupied territory. At the same time, the United Nations announced Turkey’s incursion has displaced at least 80,000 children. Meanwhile, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced their intention to comply with the Russian-Turkish agreement after the US withdrawal, which entails SDF personnel being pulled back to a depth of 32 kilometers in designated areas and Russian and Syrian regime forces taking control of the border regions. That said, clashes intensified between Syrian regime forces and jihadist groups on Tuesday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Turkish jets bombed Syrian regime forces and killed six. Simultaneously, Amnesty International, the United Nations, and the United States launched separate investigations into allegations of Turkish war crimes.
- Shortly after a US raid killed Da’esh leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the SDF announced a second operation had killed the terrorist organization’s spokesperson Abu al-Hassan al-Muhaj near the Turkish occupied town of Jerablus in Aleppo Governorate. Likewise, after US officials announced the role of the SDF in targeting Baghdadi, a senior SDF member revealed additional details regarding American-SDF collaboration in the search for Baghdadi since May 2019.
Turkey
- Turkish authorities continued imposing security restrictions in Kurdish cities and towns to stifle demonstrations and political activity. The Turkish government also continued its campaign to remove and replace elected Kurdish mayors by detaining the Kurdish mayor of Cizra city, who was elected with 76.99 percent of the vote, and replacing him with a government approved trustee. The previously arrested and replaced Kurdish mayors remain imprisoned as well. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities continued their crackdown on the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) by detaining a number of party members, including the HDP co-chair of Mazidagi Province Mesut Urun.