778
Iran
- The Iranian regime continued its ongoing crackdown on Kurdish political activity last week and arrested at least a dozen more Kurdish activists. In Paveh, Iranian security forces arrested a 17-year-old Kurd named Parsa Rostami on Sunday. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) claimed Rostami was a member of a Kurdish opposition party and was arrested upon returning to Iran. In Kermanshah Province’s Dalahu County, Iranian authorities arrested three Kurds named Arash Darabi, Yayheya Muradi, and Afsheen Muradi on Wednesday. Concurrently, in Saqqez, five Kurds, including three environmental activists, were detained, and a lawyer named Ali Sakini was arrested for protesting his client’s death sentence. At the same time, Iranian intelligence officers (Ettela’at) arrested a 35-year-old Kurdish man named Miraj Murtazee in Sarvabad on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an appeals court in Kamyaran confirmed a Kurdish political prisoner named Haider Qurbani’s death sentence, which was issued in October 2015 for “fighting the Islamic Republic with arms” after several Kurds were accused of attacking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel. Likewise, Urmia’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced a 30-year-old Kurdish activist named Hamid Abdi to 15 years in prison for “disruption of national security” and “aiding a Kurdish opposition party.” Finally, two Kurdish men, Nawed Mohamadi and Khalid Mohamadi, received seven-year sentences in Piranshahr for “spying for enemy states.” Both men were initially arrested in April 2020.
- Turkish border guards killed a Kurdish border porter (Kolbar) named Ibrahim Baikar near Chaldiran last Tuesday. Iranian border guards wounded another Kolbar named Mobin Husseini near Nowsud on Friday. Iranian authorities also confiscated dozens of Kolbar horses and a sizable amount of cargo in the Hawraman region.
Iraq
- Turkey continued its military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan last week, striking four locations in Duhok Governorate and one in Sulaymaniyah Governorate. On Friday, Turkish warplanes destroyed a vehicle in Sulaymaniyah Governorate’s Qamesh village. Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense claimed that several members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were killed in the attack. Concurrently, Iraq announced a Turkish drone strike killed two brigade commanders of Iraq’s border guard in Erbil Governorate’s Soran District on Tuesday. Rudaw reported that Iraqi border guards had previously met with members of the PKK. That said, Turkish military operations in Iraq’s Kurdish region have caused dozens of civilian casualties and displaced thousands more.
- Kurdish lawmakers reported the KRG and Government of Iraq (GOI) reached agreements regarding the Kurdistan region’s budget and allocation of oil revenues last week. According to the agreement, the KRG would hand over revenue from the sale of 250,000 barrels of oil per day and 50 percent of customs revenues to the GOI. In return, the GOI would pay the KRG its share of the Iraqi budget and provide funding for KRG employee salaries. A KRG delegation is scheduled to visit Baghdad this week to resume talks with the GOI regarding the above-mentioned agreement and other outstanding issues.
Syria
- The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Da’esh terrorists of assassinating an Arab sheikh in Deir Ez Zor Governorate last week. That said, Turkish-backed groups and the Assad regime accused the SDF of being behind the assassination. The Assad regime also attempted to exploit protestors’ calls for justice in the governorate by recruiting several members of the slain sheikh’s tribe into an anti-SDF force. The SDF detained an Arab man, Abdul Razaq al Qati, who was distributing recruiting flyers for an organization calling itself the “Armed Arab Resistance.” The SDF also released a statement on Monday that outlined the threats facing the region from Dae’sh, Turkey, and the Syrian regime.
- Security forces in al Hawl camp, which holds thousands of Da’esh members and their relatives, detained a Syrian Red Crescent employee for attempting to smuggle four Russian Da’esh brides and their children out of the facility. Al Hawl camp, which is overseen by the SDF, has seen a recent uptick in escape attempts and violent incidents.
Turkey
- The Turkish governors of Van and Urfa provinces imposed “activity bans” covering political functions like marches, press conferences, and meetings to prevent anti-government protests. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities released an individual responsible for attacking a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) building on Monday in a move that angered HDP members. Meanwhile the Turkish police detained a number of members of youth organizations with HDP ties in Adana.