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Iran
- Three more Kurdish border porters (Kolbars) lost their lives last week. Iranian border guards ambushed a group of Kolbars last Tuesday near Sardasht, killing 32-year-old Kamaran Molania. Iranian authorities wounded three more Kolbars near Chaldoran on Wednesday. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Turkish forces fired on a group of Kolbars near West Azerbaijan Province’s Qotur township, killing a Kolbar named Baram Yousifi and severely wounding another. Lastly, a Kolbar fell from a cliff and died near Oshnavieh (Shinno).
- A 50-year-old Kurd named Arsalan Khodkam stands in danger of becoming the latest political prisoner executed by the Iranian regime in recent weeks. Khodkam was imprisoned for national security-related offenses, and the Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) claimed his family was informed he will be executed following the conclusion of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on May 23. According to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Iranian regime has executed 25 Kurds in 2020.
- The Iranian regime, in an attempt to stifle potential unrest in Iranian Kurdistan, intensified its crackdown on Kurdish political activity last week, arresting a 17-year-old in Piranshahr on Monday. Iranian authorities also arrested a Kurd from Piranshahr named Abbas Sadqi.
- Iran’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 122,000 last week, and its official death toll now stands at 7057. That said, suspicion persists regarding the validity of the Iranian regime’s numbers, while Iranian Kurdistan, particularly Kermanshah Province, remains disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Concurrently, the Iranian regime announced it was following up on its reopening of religious institutions by reopening schools, allowing volunteer participation in classrooms, and further relaxing restrictions on social activities.
Iraq
- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq (GOI) failed to reach an agreement regarding the KRG’s share of the national budget and payment of its employees’ salaries last week, as Baghdad did not commit to the provision of future funding. The ongoing budget disputes have resulted in delayed payments to government employees in Iraqi Kurdistan and sparked a teacher protest in Dohuk city. KRG security forces eventually dispersed the demonstration and detained several protesters.
- ISIS (Da’esh) committed a series of arson attacks targeting Kurdish-owned farmlands. Dae’sh terrorists, who set several fields ablaze in Makhmur last week, destroyed dozens of acres of farmland in Diyala Governorate’s Qaratapah District on Monday and set fire to an additional 200 acres in Kirkuk Governorate’s Daquq District. Meanwhile, a number of settled Arabs attempted to seize Kurdish farms in Kirkuk’s Dibis and released a video mocking the Kurds who have faced Arabization in the area over the past three decades.
- Despite recent positive trends in Iraqi Kurdistan’s coronavirus numbers, the KRG decided to extend bans on interprovincial travel until the conclusion of Eid on May 24. International air traffic also remains limited in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan.
- The Turkish military continued its incursion, dubbed Operation Claw, into Iraqi Kurdistan last week. On Monday, Turkish jets targeted villages in Duhok Governorate’s Barwari District and caused property damage. Though Operation Claw is ostensibly intended to target Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the region, it has killed dozens of civilians and displaced thousands since it was launched in May 2019.
Syria
- Turkish forces shot and killed a Kurdish farmer named Mehdeen Abdulrazaq north of Chelagha near the Turkish-Syrian border on Sunday. The area is routinely patrolled by joint Russian-Turkish military forces.
- Seven Da’esh detainees escaped from the al Hawl camp last week, though Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) personnel eventually recaptured four. Meanwhile, the SDF, backed by US-led coalition forces, took down a Da’esh cell in Deir ez Zour Governorate’s al Busria town and confiscated suicide belts, weapons, and military equipment. Two Iraqi Da’esh terrorists blew themselves up during the operation. That said, unknown individuals believed to be associated with Da’esh burned thousands of acres of farmland in Deir ez Zour. Da’esh terrorists also killed seven Syrian regime personnel near Deir ez Zour Governorate’s border with Homs Governorate.
- Syria’s total number of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 58, and its death count reached three last week. Many of Syria’s confirmed cases can be traced back to Syrians returning from Kuwait. Meanwhile, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) reopened two crossings with Syrian regime-controlled territory to facilitate people’s return to their homes.
Turkey
- The Turkish government seized the Kurdish-run municipalities of Siirt, Iğdır, Baykan, Altınova, and Kurtalan and replaced their mayors with government-approved trustees on Friday. The Turkish government has now sacked a total of 45 Kurdish municipal officials since March 2019’s elections, while Friday’s move led to protests in several cities. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) responded by issuing a statement condemning the government which said, “As we emphasized before, we are fighting against two viruses simultaneously – COVID 19 and racist authoritarianism against the Kurds and their democratic will – both being severe public health issues.” The HDP also called for the international community to “raise their voice and take action against these racist policies of Turkey’s government.”
- Turkish authorities continued their crackdown on Kurdish political activism by arresting 43 Kurds, including HDP members, in Van Province’s Ozalp District on Friday. Turkish police also arrested three Kurds in Nusaybin on Saturday.