557
A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet claimed the Iranian regime has detained at least 7,000 people since protests erupted in 28 of the nation’s 31 provinces on November 15. Concurrently, the UN Human Rights Office stated Iranian authorities have killed at least 208 people, including 13 women and 12 children, in response to the protests so far. Most of these deaths have occurred in Iran’s Kurdish region and several human rights organizations have cited a death toll of over 300. Meanwhile, Iran’s intelligence services (Ettela’at) continue to enforce stringent security measures in Kurdish cities to prevent further demonstrations and are still cracking down on Kurdish activists and protest organizers. On Monday, Ettela’at officers arrested a Kurdish activist named Arman Shakiri in Marivan. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK), Shakiri was injured during a protest and receiving medical treatment in his home when he was detained. Likewise, in Sanandaj, Ettela’at officers apprehended a Kurdish activist, Akbar Kawyli, as he answered a summons issued by an Iranian court. No further information has been issued regarding Kawyli’s arrest or confinement. Ettela’at officers also arrested two Yarasani Kurdish activists in Kermanshah. One of the detained activists, Sobhat Omedi, was shot and severely wounded during the raid. Finally, in Oshnavieh (Shinno), Iranian authorities detained a Kurdish political activist named Rashid Naserzada. Naserzada had been previously jailed for opposing the death penalty in Iran.
- Iranian border guards killed a 38-year-old Kurdish border porter (Kolbar) named Mahdi Yousifi near Marivan last week. The Iranian regime has now killed 66 Kolbars and wounded and least 129 since January 1, 2019.
Iraq
- ISIS (Da’esh) launched a new wave of attacks in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” last week. On Wednesday, Da’esh terrorists attacked a Peshmerga base in Daka village, which is southwest of Khanaqin. Three Peshmerga were killed in the attack and two were wounded. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) responded to the recent string of attacks by deploying additional troops and heavy weapons to the region. That said, an IED explosion killed a police officer in Kirkuk city’s Panja Ali neighborhood on Friday. Meanwhile, Kirkuk’s security forces announced the arrest of a senior Dae’sh operative named Hamid Shaker. Shaker, also known as Abu Khaldun, was a military amir of Salah ad Din Governorate who managed Da’esh intelligence operations and had planned several recent terror operations. Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” have been plagued by a deteriorating security situation since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias seized control and removed the Peshmerga from the region on October 16, 2017.
- Following an agreement between the KRG and Government of Iraq on the Kurdistan Region’s allocated budget for 2020, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani said the cabinet is “seeking to conclude a comprehensive agreement with the federal government that is in everyone’s interest.” The acting federal administration of Baghdad will now send the KRG agreement and the rest of the government’s budget request to the Council of Representatives of Iraq for approval.
Syria
- In response to numerous IED attacks in northeastern Syria and Turkish-backed jihadists’ assault on a school in Tal Rifaat, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Rupert Colville said, “We are gravely concerned by the increased use of IEDs in populated areas. Such use may amount to an indiscriminate attack, a serious violation of international humanitarian law and constitute a war crime.” The terror attack in Tal Rifaat killed a dozen Kurdish civilians who were previously displaced by Turkey’s 2018 attack on Afrin, including two women and seven boys. Meanwhile, Turkish-backed jihadists continued to launch attacks near the strategic M4 highway in the vicinity of Tal Tamer, Ain Essa, and Gri Spi (Tal Abyad). At the same time, Turkish military forces and allied jihadists, keeping in line with the previous Turkish-Russian agreement, withdrew from the M4 highway near Ain Essa and were quickly replaced with arriving Russian and Syrian troops, though joint Russian-Turkish patrols continued in other parts of northeastern Syria. Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) personnel had previously withdrawn from the area in response to Russian pressure. On another note, on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the beginning of efforts to “resettle” one million Syrians in the recently occupied Kurdish region between Gri Spi (Tal Abyad) and Ras al Ain. According to multiple Kurdish reports, the Turkish incursion into northeastern Syria has killed 490 civilians and wounded 1,070 thus far. Additionally, the invasion has internally displaced 300,000 people and forced 18,077 refugees to resettle in Iraqi Kurdistan.
- Al Hawl camp, which houses tens of thousands of Da’esh operatives, sympathizers, and family members of Da’esh terrorists, was again plagued by insecurity last week. On Wednesday, the camp’s security forces found the body of a female citizen of Turkmenistan who had been beaten and stabbed to death. On Thursday, security personnel found the body of an Iraqi man who was stabbed in the chest. Though both incidents remain under investigation, camp authorities suspect Da’esh operatives or radicalized family members are behind the attacks, as they have carried out previous assaults on camp residents and security personnel in al Hawl.
- Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) spokesman Loqman Ahmi rejected any outcomes from the UN constitution committee due to its exclusion of AANES representatives and claimed the AANES is not bound by any decision or constitution in which it did not participate. Ahmi then stated, “Representatives of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria were excluded from the Geneva meetings, while representatives of terrorist groups from the remnants of ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front are participating in those meetings despite the fact that the Kurds, the Arabs and the rest of the components have paid very large and expensive sacrifices in order to eliminate terrorism.”
Turkey
- As part of its continuing crackdown on Kurdish activists and members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), the Turkish government removed and arrested four more elected Kurdish mayors and district heads last week. Turkish authorities arrested the co-mayors of Van Province’s Ozalp and Balkale municipalities on Friday. Concurrently, Naside Buluttekin, a council member in Diyarbakir city’s Baglar District was removed from office and detained. Turkish police also arrested the co-mayor of Batman Province’s Ikikopru municipality, Osman Karabulut. On Saturday, Turkey’s Minister of the Interior replaced three more co-mayors with pro-government trustees. Meanwhile, in Kocaeli Province, 14 of 22 HDP members previously arrested by Turkish authorities on November 26 were jailed, while the other 8 were released on bail. In Antalya, police raided several Kurdish homes on Friday and arrested 29 people, mostly HDP members. Additionally, authorities detained two provincial council members, Mehmet Demir and Mehmet Tugrul, in Mus. The HDP responded by accusing the Turkish government of pursuing racist polices since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) aligned with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in early 2018. The HDP will hold a general congress in February of 2020.