538
Iran
- The Iranian regime continued its crackdown on Kurdish political activity by arresting and imprisoning more Kurds last week. Iranian authorities arrested a Kurdish man named Mohammed Khalanajad in Sardasht and another named Osman Khudakaramai in Bokan. At the same time, Iranian security forces raided the home of a Kurdish man named Mala Jamshid Hamdi in Osnaviah (Shinno) and detained him. Furthermore, three people were detained in Marivan’s Darshikhan village last week, including Hamid Dastan and his son Soran Dastan. Despite the absence of official charges, most of those detained in the past week were wanted for their political affiliations.
- The Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh) targeted a vehicle in Kermanshah on Wednesday, killing a 17-year-old Kurd named Ashkan Azizi and wounding one other person. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association (KMMK) claimed the vehicle was attacked because it did not have a license plate.
- Iranian authorities intensified their campaign of repression targeting Kurdish border porters (Kolbars) last week. Last Tuesday, a Kolbar named Hiwa Wakeli died after his vehicle flipped while being pursued by Iranian security forces between Saqqez and Divandarreh (Diwandara). On the same day, Iranian border guards shot and wounded two more Kolbars near Baneh. On Thursday, the Iranian security forces shot and wounded a Kurdish Kolbar named Ismael Newrozi near Marivan. Lastly, Iranian border guards ambushed a group of Kolbars near Chaldaron on Saturday and killed a Kolbar named Amen Shamsi. The Iranian regime is now responsible for most of the 60+ Kolbar deaths that have occurred since the beginning of 2020.
Iraq
- Hundreds of militiamen from the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) responded to the remarks of Hoshiyar Zebari, a senior leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), regarding the need to “clean up the presence of PMUs near the Green Zone” by burning down a KDP office in Baghdad and incinerating the flag of Kurdistan, which angered many Kurds in Iraq. Though Zebari eventually apologized for his remarks, additional anti-Kurd protests took place because the Iranian-backed militants considered his apology “late.” Iraq’s Kurdish parties and political leaders responded by condemning the burning of the Kurdish flag and animosity towards Iraqi Kurds.
- The security situation in Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” continued to worsen last week and has remained fragile since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed PMUs seized control of the area in October 2017. On Sunday, ISIS (Da’esh) terrorists assassinated two brothers and their cousin in Shwan and burned all three corpses. Additionally, Iraqi security forces found a mass grave containing 45 victims of Da’esh between Kirkuk Governorate’s Haweja and Daquq districts. Meanwhile, a Dae’sh terrorist was killed while planting an IED on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit, and unidentified assailants burned the home and vehicle of an Arab politician in the Haweja District. Lastly, an IED destroyed a civilian vehicle and killed a father and his three sons in the Makhmour District, which also remains under the control of Iraqi forces.
Syria
- Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) leader Ilham Ahmed said reaching an agreement with the Syrian regime would require “almost a miracle” and stressed the SDC has tried nearly all available methods, including Russian mediation. Ahmed, speaking to a local television station, also touched upon the Syrian regime’s goal of undermining the SDC’s position in northeastern Syria.
- A delegation from Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited northeastern Syria, met with several SDC and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) officials, and toured several camps housing displaced people. The delegation, which was headed by Sweden’s Special Envoy to the Syrian Crisis Per Örnéus, also expressed support for the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). Meanwhile, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde called for Turkey to withdraw from Syria and engaged in an argument with her Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, during a press conference in Ankara on Wednesday.
- Turkish-backed Islamists perpetrated indirect fire attacks on Ain Issa and the M4 Motorway that killed a 13-year-old boy named Hatem Hazm. Likewise, a motorcycle bomb injured two civilians in Qamishli on Saturday, and a car bomb wounded five civilians in Manbij on Tuesday. Lastly, the SDF announced it carried out several raids with coalition support and arrested four Da’esh terrorists in the rural areas surrounding Deir Ez Zor and five more in Hasakah.
Turkey
- Turkish police detained 22 Kurds in Hakkari and the villages surrounding the city on Thursday. Simultaneously, in a continuation of the Turkish government’s ongoing campaign against Kurdish political rights, Turkish authorities arrested six members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Mersin. Additionally, Ankara’s Second Penal Court of Peace approved the continued imprisonment of former HDP leaders, Selahhattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdag, who have been jailed since November 6, 2016. Finally, another Ankara court imposed a travel ban on the Kurdish politician Ahmed Turk.
- 68 members of the European Parliament drafted a letter to its president, David Sassoli, that demanded the end of Turkey’s “military support for all groups who are part of systematic human rights violations.” The letter also called for an end to the Turkish occupation of northeastern Syria and requested a European delegation visit the region after COVID-19 travel restrictions are relaxed.