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Iran
- After using force to put down protests across the country, Iranian security forces launched a series of raids and detained many individuals who organized and participated in the protests. Hundreds of Kurds remain in Iranian jails since mass protests began on November 15. In Mazandaran Province’s Kelardasht city, Iranian authorities arrested a prominent Kurdish writer and activist named Mozhgan Kawasi. Kawasi was accused of “supporting the protests” in the Kurdish region. In Bokan city, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettel’aat) arrested a Kurdish activist named Azad Mahmodian. Concurrently, Fereshta Chraghy, a Kurdish journalist and member of the Yarsani religious minority, was arrested in Sarpol-e Zahab while dozens of activists and demonstrators were detained in Kermanshah, Marrivan, Sanandaj, Saqqez, Salas-e Bawajani, and Javanrud. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK), Iranian security forces have killed 300 people and wounded over 4,000 since November 15.
- Iranian border guards shot and killed a Kurdish border porter (Kolbar) near Saqqez last week. Additionally, Iranian authorities opened fire on a group of Kolbars crossing into Iraqi Kurdistan near Sardasht, wounding one. Simultaneously, a Kolbar named Hashim Amadi died of a heart attack in a village near Marivan. The Iranian regime has killed 64 Kolbars and wounded at least 129 since the beginning of 2019.
Iraq
- The Islamic State (Da’esh) continued to exploit the deteriorating security situation in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” by carrying out several successful attacks last week. On Saturday, Da’esh terrorists detonated three improvised explosive devices in Kirkuk city and injured 16 people. Two of the IEDs exploded in a crowded bazaar and a third detonated in the city’s Domiz neighborhood. Da’esh operatives also launched a mortar attack on Kolajo village, southeast of Kifri, and ambushed responding Kurdish security forces (Asayish) with an IED and sniper fire. Three Asayish personnel were killed in the ambush, including the department head of Kojaio, and three were wounded. Likewise, in Daquq’s Haftaghar village, unknown gunmen assassinated a Kurdish man and his wife late Wednesday night. Da’esh threats have forced many residents of Kurdish villages in Kirkuk and Khanagin to flee their homes since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias seized control of the area and removed Peshmerga forces on October 16, 2017.
- After the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq reached a preliminary agreement regarding the federal budget and oil sales, the KRG sent a delegation to Baghdad to sign a finalized arrangement last week. The KRG then announced the signing of the deal with Baghdad on Tuesday. According to the agreement, the KRG will hand over 250,000 oil barrels to Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO). In return, Baghdad will ensure provision of a share of the federal budget and the salaries of KRG employees to the Kurdistan region.
Syria
- Turkey and its jihadist allies continued to perpetrate attacks in Syria’s Kurdish region last week. On Monday, Turkish artillery shells hit a school in Tal Rifat, killing eight children and two adults. Eight children and two adults were also wounded in the attack. Kurdish activists later released photos of the dead Kurdish children while the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) described Turkey’s attack on the school as “a heinous war crime against children and forcibly displaced people from their areas which amounts to ethnic cleansing.” Concurrently, on the 53rd day of the Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released the latest statistics on attacks carried out by Turkey and their jihadist proxies. The SDF also announced Turkish-backed jihadists attempted to seize control of the strategic M4 highway near Ain Essa and launched additional attacks near the Christian town of Tal Tamer. At the same time, SDF commander-in-chief General Mazloum Abdi announced an agreement with the Russian military to deploy Russian forces in Tal Tamer, Ain Essa and Amuda city near the Syrian-Turkish border. General Abdi stated, “We agreed to deploy Russian forces in Amuda, Tal Tamr and Ain Issa for the security and stability of the region. We look forward to further joint efforts in the interest of our two countries.” Meanwhile, the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC) announced the arrival of 36 refugees from northeastern Syria on December 2, bringing the total number of Syrian refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan to 17,669. The Turkish invasion, dubbed Operation Peace Spring, has killed 488 civilians, injured 1,070, and internally displaced over 300,000 thus far.
- A 23-year-old Syrian man was stabbed 38 times by female Da’esh sympathizers in al Hawl camp. Camp authorities eventually found the man unconscious and in desperate need of medical attention. Al Hawl camp has seen a recent spike in assaults and other criminal activities and continues to hold 40,000 members of Da’esh families, including several thousand foreigners.
Turkey
- Turkish authorities intensified their crackdown on Kurdish political activists and members of the Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) last week. On Wednesday, Turkish police detained around 90 people, including senior HDP members and Kurdish journalists, in Ankara, Gaziantep, Urfa, Diyarbakir, Amed, Agri, Adiyaman and Batman. On Thursday, Turkish police arrested five more people in the provinces of Mus and Van. HDP Vice Co-Chair Hisyar Ozsoy responded by announcing the HDP will hold its 4th congress in spite of the government’s campaign of mass arrests targeting HDP members. Ozsoy stated, “The government is intensifying its pressure on our party members and voters. The idea is to paralyze the HDP and prevent it from organizing a powerful congress.”
- On Monday, the jailed former head of the HDP, Selahattin Demitrtas, was transferred to a hospital to receive treatment for a serious medical condition. The Turkish government previously prevented Demirtas from receiving hospital treatment, but eventually relented due to the seriousness of his condition and pressure from the HDP. Demirtas has been jailed since November 6, 2016 for “spreading terrorist propaganda” and “insulting the president,” charges which have been levied against thousands of Kurdish activists and politicians.