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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- One killed, two wounded last week in the most recent casualty toll for the Kurdish border porters known as Kolbars. Last Tuesday, two Kolbars fell off a cliff while carrying goods on their shoulders near a border crossing near the Hawraman region of Iraqi and Iranian Kurdistan. On Saturday near Piranshahr and the Iraqi Kurdistan’s Haji Omaran town a Kolbar was injured after shots were fired at him by the Iranaian border guards.
- As the Coronavirus made its way to the Kurdish region of Iran, according to a pro-regime map, at least 16 Kurds have been diagnosed with the virus as all Kurdish provinces in Iran are affected. In Saqqez, the first 55-year old Kurdish woman passed away on Sunday, while more than 22 more cases are being tested. According to Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, one prisoner died after the disease spread in the Urmia prison on Friday. On Monday protests were held by the families of prisoners demanding the regime to release the prisoners on bail.
- In a recent crackdown on the Kurds, the Iranian regime detained Zainap Ismaeli, a member of the Peace Mothers Organization in Dehgolan (Dewelan). Ismaeli lost a son to ISIS (Da’esh) in 2014 as he volunteered to the Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Defense Units (YPG). According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) since her arrest on Thursday, no security office has released any information about her. In Marivan’s Nie village, members of Iraian military intelligence (Etelaat) shot a Kurdish man and severely injured him. The Kurdish man (33) Kaiwan Nikpie was arrested for his participation in the anti-government protests last November. In Marivan also, a Kurdish activist, Osman Del Awez was arrested with further information on accusations by the regime. In February alone, 19 Kurdish activists were sentenced, while hundreds more remain in jail.
Iraq
- Five members of one family tested positive for Coronavirus in Sulaymaniyah province in the Kurdistan region. According to the Kurdistan Ministry of Health, the family was designated with the virus upon their return from Iran. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) canceled all public events including social events and funerals. In Kirkuk a new case of Coronavirus raised the infected people to five while the schools and public offices remain closed or partially opened. The public security (Asayesh) in the Kurdistan region called the people to report any person coming back from Iran illegally since the borders remain closed.
- The Iraqi Prime Minister designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi resigned from his position after failing to rally support to form his cabinet. The Iraqi Parliament failed on three attempts to fulfill the quorum and grant the confidence vote to Allawi. The Kurds, the Sunnis, and some of the Shia blocks agreed to boycott the voting due to disagreements with the way Allawi chose his cabinet members. All the Kurdish lawmakers were united against Allawi which was later praised by Massud Barzani, the former President of the Kurdistan region and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
- At least one member of the Iranian-backed militants was killed north of Daquq district in Kirkuk after Da’esh attacks on Saturday. The Iraqi security forces raided several hideouts of the terror groups near Haweja.
Syria
- Despite clashes between Turkish forces and Turkish-backed jihadists against the Syrian regime forces backed by Russia, joint Russian-Turkish patrols continued east of Kobani on Monday. The joint patrols remain in effect since Turkey and Russia agreed to conduct joint patrols in the Kurdish region near the borders with Turkey after the Turkish invasion last October. In a recent report released by the United Nations (UN), both Turkey and Russia are accused of war crimes recently in Syria. The UN report highlighted the Turkish war crimes against Kurdish civilians and a prominent female politician.
- In Al-Qahtaniyah (Tirbespî) east of Qamishli, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the death of one member during “duty” on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Turkish-backed Jihadists bombarded the M4 highway near Ain Essa without tangible advances in recent weeks. The Kurdish authorities in Syria blamed Turkey for cutting the water services to al Hasakah province from the recently occupied Sari Kani (Ras Alin). The Aluk water plant employees were dismissed by the Turkish troops two weeks ago. According to Kurdish reports, In Geri Spi (Tal Abyad) Turkey has opened free Turkish language classes as part of “demographic change” after its occupation of the region.
Turkey
- Thousands of Kurds across Europe and northern Syria protested the isolation of the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. The protests demanded the Turkish government to reveal updates about Ocalan’s health and wellness after the Turkish interior ministry announced a fire breaking out on the Imrali Island where Ocalan is jailed. Ocalan’s lawyers released a statement describing Ocalan’s isolation as “constitutes a crime.” The Asrin Law Office also requested meeting Ocalan: ”It is an unavoidable fact that Mr. Öcalan and our other clients are directly affected by the fire,” read the statement. The Turkish government has denied hundreds of visit requests by Ocalan’s lawyers since August 12, 2019 when a family member last visited him. On Tuesday the Turkish government allowed Ocalan’s family to visit him.