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Iran
- The Cooperation Center for the Iranian Kurdistan Parties (CCIKP) released a statement calling for residents of Iranian Kurdistan to boycott the upcoming parliamentary (Majlis) elections on February 21, 2020. The statement described the Iranian Majlis as a component of an oppressive regime which has persecuted the Iranian people. The statement also labeled anyone voting or nominating themselves in the upcoming election as “legitimizing the Iranian Islamic regime.” The CCIKP includes Iran’s major Kurdish opposition parties and was formed after the Iranian regime launched missile attacks on the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party-Iran (KDP-I) and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) last year.
- The Iranian regime stepped up its campaign to assert its will in Iran’s Kurdish region last week. The regime’s efforts have further intensified in response to public displays of mourning held by the families of killed protesters throughout Iran in venues like cemeteries on Thursday. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK), the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh), and armed vigilantes have been deployed in Sanandaj, Saqqez, Javanrud, Kermanshahm, and Marivan to enforce state control and prevent additional anti-regime protests. Meanwhile, another Kurdish protester from Marivan, Shorsh Qadiri, was found unconscious with severe injuries and appeared to have been tortured. Qadiri, in a brief moment of consciousness, said he was apprehended during the recent protests. Concurrently, Iranian authorities arrested a Kurdish journalist and activist namd Babek Dabiran in Kermanshah for involvement with anti-government protests, while another Kurdish youth was detained in Mako for “political activities.”
- One Kurdish border porter (Kolbar) was killed and four were injured last week. Iranian border guards attacked a group of Kolbars near Baneh and wounded a Kolbar named Aziz Azizi. Iranian authorities wounded another Kolbar near Chaldiran. Simultaneously, Iranian forces ambushed a group of a Kolbars near Sardasht, killing a Kolbar named Mohammed Rashizdzada and wounding another named Khider Binewa. Likewise, a Kolbar named Salah Baziani fell off a cliff and suffered severe injuries in the Hawraman region. Last week’s incidents brought the total number of Kolbar casualties in 2019 to 71 killed and at least 138 wounded, with the Iranian regime directly responsible for 90% of the deaths.
Iraq
- On Friday night, the Iranian-backed Shiite paramilitary group Kata’ib Hizbollah (KH) launched a rocket attack on the K-1 military base in Kirkuk Province. The attack killed one US contractor and wounded four US military personnel. In retaliation, US drones attacked KH bases in Iraq and Syria, killing 19 pro-Iranian militiamen and wounding 40. The Pentagon then issued a statement regarding the strikes which read, “Iran and their KH proxy forces must cease their attacks on US and Coalition forces, and respect Iraq’s sovereignty, to prevent additional defensive actions by US forces.” Iranian-backed militias and Iraqi forces occupied Kirkuk and removed US-backed Kurdish forces on October 16, 2017 in response to the Kurdish independence referendum. Since then, the security situation in the “Disputed Territories” has dramatically deteriorated, allowing the Islamic State (Da’esh) to reassert itself in the region and perpetrate an increasing number of attacks. Last week, Da’esh set up a fake checkpoint between Kirkuk and Tikrit and murdered an entire family. Concurrently, Da’esh terrorists attacked Iraqi police west of Kirkuk near the Khabaza oil field, killing one and wounding three. Da’esh also killed two Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen in the Hawija District.
- The Council of Representatives of Iraq, despite Kurdish opposition, held a session and approved an electoral reform bill on Tuesday. The Kurds, whose political blocs were absent from Tuesday’s session, opposed two articles of the bill which designate districts as electoral constituencies. The Kurds fear the electoral bill will result in a loss of Kurdish votes in the “Disputed Territories.”
Syria
- Northeastern Syria saw an increasing number of clashes between Turkish-backed terror groups and Syrian regime forces near Ain Essa last week, with Turkish drones and Turkish-backed jihadists attacking Syrian forces in the Sharkak village, killing and injuring a number of Syrian personnel and destroying several vehicles. The Syrian forces occupied the area following Russian-mediated negotiations which resulted in the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the area. Meanwhile, Turkey and its Islamist allies launched more attacks on Kurds in the countryside of Giri Spi (Tal Abyad), focusing their efforts on the Kurdish villages of Koelik and Birtaktak. Turkish-backed jihadists also launched a new round of attacks on the Kurdish areas of Tal Rifaat on Monday. On another note, the newly established Washokani camp for displaced people west of Haskah received 5,000 more Internally Displaced People (IDP), most of whom are from Tal Abyad and Sari Kani (Ras al Ain). The total number of the IDPs in northeastern Syria now stands at over 200,000, with an additional 19,018 refugees currently residing in Iraqi Kurdistan. Additionally, given the continuing struggle between the Assad regime and Turkish-backed jihadists in Idlib, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Commander Mazloum Abdi stressed the SDF’s readiness to receive IDPs fleeing that conflict. “Our doors are open to our people in Idlib, they can coordinate with the Idlib factions in the SDF to enter our areas,” said Abdi.
Turkey
- The Turkish government sent several previously sacked co-mayors to prison last week. Many of the removed co-mayors have been accused of “membership in a terrorist organization.” Additionally, Turkish authorities arrested a total of 15 Kurdish council members in several of Eruzum Province’s districts, while Karayazı District co-mayor Melike Göksu remains imprisoned since his arrest in September. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has reaped the benefits of the Turkish government’s campaign against Kurdish politicians and now holds a majority in Eruzum Province. On another note, the previous co-mayors of Diyarbakir’s Sur District, Filiz Buluttekin and Cemal Ozdemir, were imprisoned following their removal from office two weeks ago. Simultaneously, the former co-mayor of Mus Province’s Bulanik District, Adnan Topçu, was sent to prison last week. Topçu was previously removed from office and jailed on December 17. The Turkish government has now jailed numerous Kurdish council members and 23 out of 32 sacked mayors since local elections were held on March 31, 2019.