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Iran
- The Iranian regime detained several more Kurdish activists and civilians last week. In Sanandaj, Iranian authorities arrested a Kurdish man named Zaniar Mohammadi on Monday. Also, in Sanandaj, Iranian security forces detained two Kurds named Taruq Rahimpour and Binyamin Rahimpour on Sunday and denied their families visitation rights. Meanwhile, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) arrested two individuals, Saed Rashidi and Mohammed Lashkiri, in Mehabad. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) claimed Rashidi and Lashkiri were members of the Sunni Quran School of Mehabad.
- The Iranian regime continued targeting Kurdish border porters (Kolbars) last week. On Friday, Iranian border guards attacked a group of Kolbars near Khoy, killing a Kolbar named Luqman Chwarqusha and severely wounding two others. Concurrently, a Kolbar named Siwan Kawsary fell from a cliff and died near Baneh. 14 Kolbars have been killed and at least 42 have been wounded since January 1, 2020, with the Iranian regime directly responsible for most of the casualties.
- Iran’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 109,000 last week, and its official death toll now stands at 6,685. Iranian officials also fear that the easing of containment measures over the last two weeks is fueling a coronavirus resurgence.
- A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Iranian Kurdistan’s Lorestan Province on Wednesday and injured at least 25 people. Lorestan is one of Iran’s poorest provinces.
Iraq
- On Thursday, the Council of Representatives of Iraq granted a vote of confidence to the new Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa al Kadhimi and his cabinet, with 255 of 329 lawmakers voting in favor of the measure. Most of Iraq’s political parties supported al Kadhimi, including all but two of the Iranian-backed blocs. Kadhimi appointed a Kurd to head Iraq’s Ministry of Housing and Construction, and Kurdish nominees are also slated to take command of the nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice when the political blocs agree on the candidates. Likewise, Kadhimi’s nominees to head other departments, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Immigration and Displacement, Ministry of Oil, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of Trade, await approval via a second round of voting. Meanwhile, Kadhimi, in his opening statement, vowed to resolve differences between Baghdad and Erbil through the Constitution of Iraq.
- ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists kidnapped and killed two Kurdish farmers of the Kaka’i belief in Maykhas village, which is south of Khanaqin, on Sunday. Da’esh terrorists also set fire to hundreds of acres of Kurdish farmland in the Makhmour District, a disputed territory located between Ninewa and Erbil Governorates, last week. Da’esh has continuously exploited the deteriorating security situation in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias expelled the Peshmerga on October 16, 2017.
- The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health announced 372 of Iraqi Kurdistan’s 391 confirmed coronavirus cases have recovered from the disease. At the same time, the region’s death toll now stands at five, while 14 remain hospitalized. Meanwhile, the KRG lifted restrictions on places of worship on Monday, and the provincial governments lifted additional restrictions on businesses while warning residents to avoid crowded events and venues. That said, restrictions on travel between provinces will remain in effect until at least May 18. Moreover, Iraqi Kurdistan’s international airports remain closed and will only reopen with the approval of the Government of Iraq. Finally, Kirkuk Governorate reported 42 of its 70 confirmed coronavirus cases had recovered, and its death count now stands at two.
Syria
- Joint Russian-Turkish military patrols continued in the vicinity of Darbasia and Kobani last week, with Russian helicopters escorting the most recent convoys. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported US forces conducted several joint patrols with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) near Tel Tamer.
- Several pro-Kurdish media outlets released photos and videos of the damage caused by Turkish-backed jihadists’ continuous indirect fire attacks on villages near Ain Essa and Geri Spi (Tal Abyad). Simultaneously, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) requested the United Nations (UN) pressure Turkey to comply with UN calls for a global ceasefire in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The SDF arrested two female Da’esh operatives in al Hawl camp who were storing bottles of alcohol and gas in preparation for terrorist attacks. Many of al Hawl’s 70,000+ residents are relatives of slain Da’esh operatives who were rounded up following the fall of the “Caliphate” in March 2019.
- The AANES eased some restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus last week. Beginning Tuesday, the region-wide curfew will be modified to run from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Many of the region’s businesses and local offices have also reopened, though several of the region’s residents remain self-quarantined. 47 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Syria so far.
Turkey
- Turkey’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases hit 139,771 last week. The virus has also caused 3,841 deaths in the country so far, while Turkish authorities claim 95,780 have recovered from the disease. Concurrently, the Turkish government extended a previously imposed nationwide curfew for four days, though it appears the number of new cases in the country is declining.
- The Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey upheld Kurdish politician Selma Irmak’s 90-month prison sentence for “membership of an illegal organization” last week. Irmak was a lawmaker of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and previously served as a co-chair of the Kurdish Democratic Society Party. Meanwhile, in Van, a Turkish court postponed the trial of two formers Kurdish mayors from Ipekyolu District. The co-mayors, Sehsade Kurt and Azim Yacan, were sacked in November and are accused of “being members of an illegal organization.” At the same time, dozens of other elected Kurdish officials await trials on charges linked to “Kurdishness.”