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A weekly brief of events that occurred in the Kurdish regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- The Iranian regime continued its campaign of harassment targeting Kurdish political activists. In Sanandaj, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) warned four Kurdish activists named Shais Amani, Shairf Pana, Shahla Pana, and Hajir Saidi not to protest the regime’s execution of dozens of Kurdish political prisoners over the past two weeks. The regime executed three more Kurdish prisoners in Sanandaj and Urmia last week. Meanwhile, the Kurdish Human Rights Association (KMMK) reported Ettela’at cautioned two Kurdish labor activists, Mahmud Salihi and Osman Ismaeli, not to hold protests in Saqqez on International Workers’ Day which occurs on May 1 of every year. Ettela’at officers also arrested a Kurdish man, Abdullah Adwai, in Sarvabad (Sawlawa). Adwai was previously accused of supporting the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK). Finally, Iranian authorities transferred a number of prominent Kurdish political prisoners to several undisclosed locations.
- A Turkish airstrike killed two Kurdish farmers from Oshnavieh (Shinno) on a mountain near Iran’s border with Turkey and Iraq last Tuesday. Turkey has been waging a continuous war on Kurdistan Workers’ Party militants in the region since 2015. That said, Turkish air and artillery strikes have displaced thousands of the region’s residents, and Kurdish activists have raised concerns about the environmental damage caused by Turkey’s military campaign.
- Iranian border guards shot and killed a 22-year-old Kurdish border porter (Kolbar) named Mohammed Muradi near Baneh on Sunday. Iranian authorities also killed a Kolbar named Mohammed Ibrahimzade in Sardasht and severely injured another near Chaldiran. The Iranian regime has now killed 12 Kolbars and wounded at least 40 in 2020.
Iraq
- Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani traveled to Baghdad to resume negotiations with the Iraqi government on the recently cut salaries of KRG employees. Meanwhile, the Council of Representatives of Iraq (CRI) is scheduled to vote on Iraq’s prime minister-designate Mustafa al Kadhimi’s cabinet on Wednesday. All the Kurdish blocs, most Sunni Arab blocs, and some Shi’ite parties intend to approve the cabinet, though opposition persists from pro-Iranian parties and militias.
- Iraqi Kurdistan’s total number of coronavirus cases reached 388 last week, while another death from the disease pushed the region’s fatality count to five. Over 343 residents have also recovered from the disease, though many others remained quarantined pending test results. Concurrently, despite the continued partial reopening of businesses in the region, Kirkuk reinstated a week-long lockdown in response to the discovery of seven new confirmed cases in the governorate.
- The Sulaymaniyah Provincial Council finished the preparation of its provincial “decentralization” system amid support from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Gorran Movement. The project will now be presented to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and await arbitration from Iraq’s Kurdish parties.
Syria
- ISIS (Da’esh) detainees instigated another riot in al Hasakah prison on May 3. The detainees gained complete control of the prison’s interior for several hours before a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) special response team managed to restore order. SDF spokesperson Kino Gabriel released a statement acknowledging that the riot was ended through negotiations between the Da’esh detainees and the SDF. Kino also stated, ” We believe that the international coalition forces fighting ISIS and the international community have a responsibility to find a solution to the issue of detained ISIS members, provide more support for greater security measures, and improve the conditions of detainees inside prisons in North and East Syria.”
- The SDF announced the arrest of a Da’esh terrorist cell in Raqqa and the seizure of its “equipment.” A second Da’esh cell was detained in Deir Ez Zor. Concurrently, on Sunday, local security forces foiled a Da’esh raid near Deir Ez Zor’s al Basira oil field. One terrorist was killed during the engagement, though two others reportedly escaped.
- The Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) announced two confirmed coronavirus cases in the region. The AANES also quarantined around 100 people and continued to institute lockdowns in its areas of control to mitigate the spread of the virus, whose presence in the region is believed to have originated in a Qamishli hospital controlled by the Assad regime.
- Turkey’s invasion of Syria’s Kurdish region continued last week, with Turkish-backed jihadists launching attacks on areas west of Tal Abyad that damaged farms and destroyed agricultural produce. Simultaneously, the SDF announced the identity of four members killed by Turkey on April 4, 2020.
Turkey
- Turkey’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at 129,000. The virus has also caused at least 3,520 deaths in the country so far. Meanwhile, the Turkish government extended a national curfew for three days last week but announced plans to reopen several provinces this week. On another note, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) continued its “Twin Family” initiative which encourages citizens to aid each other. On Friday, jailed Kurdish politician Sellahatin Demirtas released a message supporting the campaign which said, “In these difficult times facing humanity, we are once again learning how important it is to stand in solidarity with one another.“ Demirtas also criticized the Erdogan regime in stating, “Do not let the discriminatory and polarizing politics demoralize us. You should first and foremost protect your own health and that of society. Save your anger until the next vote.”