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Iran
- The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) clashed with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday night near Salmas. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said four IRGC members were killed, and several were wounded. The IRGC denied it suffered any casualties and claimed it intercepted a “terrorist team” attempting to infiltrate Iran from Turkey. The IRGC also said it seized equipment and ammunition during the operation.
- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Sanandaj (Sena) on Thursday and vowed to support more infrastructure development and “economic growth” in the province. Iranian authorities forced Kurdish teachers and government workers to attend Raisi’s reception. That said, the Iranian regime still had to bring in members of the security forces to bolster crowds because of low turnout.
- A 21-year-old Kurdish political prisoner named Matin Hassanwand committed suicide at his Oshnavieh (Shinno) home while on temporary release from Mako Central Prison. The Iranian regime sentenced Hassanwand to five years in prison for “cooperation with a Kurdish opposition party” in 2020. Concurrently, Iranian security forces arrested a journalist named Amin Muradi in Kermanshah, a mosque administrator named Tounis Nowkha in Piranshahr, Salahaddin Ahmadi and Omed Muradi in Shinno, Paiman Salawati in Sena, Mahdi Rasa’ai in Marivan, and three people in Miandoab. Separately, several Kurdish teachers remain jailed for participating in general strikes protesting the regime’s failure to deal with rising inflation and poor economic conditions.
- Several Iranian Kurdish parties, politicians, and public figures released eulogies commemorating the life of Ali Qazi, who was the son of the only president of the Mahabad Republic, Qazi Muhammad. Qazi was living in exile in Germany and passed away on Sunday at the age of 89.
Iraq
- The Iranian-backed Coordination Framework, despite gaining forty parliamentary seats after the withdrawal of Muqtada al Sadr’s bloc, remains unable to select Iraq’s next prime minister. A Coordination Framework official told the Iranian Mehr News Agency the bloc is considering Nouri al Maliki, Qasim al Araji, and Muhammed al Sudani for the post. On Monday, Hadi al Amri, leader of the Iranian-backed Fatah Alliance, denied he was planning to become the next prime minister and announced his party’s withdrawal from “any future government.” That said, al Ameri reaffirmed his support for “any candidate agreed upon by the brothers in the [Coordination] Framework.” Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massud Barzani’s office denied reports the party agreed on any candidates favored by Iranian-backed groups and released a statement that read, “The names of people and parties are not important to President Barzani, but the implementation of the constitution and the program of the next Iraqi government is.” The KDP remains at odds with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) over the selection of a new presidential candidate, but a PUK official told Rudaw they “agreed with the KDP on most issues related to elections.”
Syria
- The Turkish military and its proxies continued attacking areas near Ain Essa and Tal Rifaat last week. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) declared a state of emergency in preparation for a Turkish invasion and ordered its branches to “put all capabilities in the service of protecting people from any aggressive attack.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly stated Turkey will launch a new incursion into northeastern Syria when preparations are complete. At the same time, a Kurdish politician named Aldar Khalil demanded Damascus liberate the Turkish-occupied areas of Syria to “solve the nation’s crisis.” Khalil also said talks with the Assad regime remain ongoing due to several points of disagreement, most notably the regime’s refusal to abandon its demand for centralization.
- On Friday, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended the delivery of humanitarian assistance through the Bab al Hawa border crossing by one year. Thirteen of the Security Council’s 15 members voted in favor of the resolution, and China abstained. However, the Security Council did agree to keep the crossing open for six months on July 11. The Bab al Hawa crossing was first opened in 2014 and serves as a conduit for UN aid to Idlib and surrounding areas.
- ISIS (Da’seh) terrorists killed a 40-year-old man in the al Hol camp’s fourth section. Furthermore, Da’esh sympathizers’ ongoing attacks caused a Norwegian humanitarian organization to suspend all operations in the facility until further notice.
- The Turkish-backed Sultan Murad Division and North Brigade skirmished again in Afrin on Thursday and Friday. Moreover, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the Sultan Murad Division detained eight Kurds on accusations of employment with the former Kurdish administration.
Turkey
- The Turkish police assaulted and arrested three Kurdish journalists in Ankara, protesting the detention of sixteen Kurdish journalists in Diyarbakir (Amed). On Monday, Turkish police raided two production companies for Kurdish news and confiscated equipment. Meanwhile, a criminal court in Manisa sentenced two senior members of the Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Mesuti Bökü and Naile Gümüştaş to over six years in prison for each. Bökü and Gümüştaş were charged with “membership of a terrorist organization.”
- In an Op-Ed from his prison cell, the former leader of the HDP called upon the Turkish opposition to adopt “change” in their politics. “Change in politics requires courage” and “Have as much knowledge and experience as you want. If you do not have the courage, you cannot initiate change,” said Demirtas. Six Turkish opposition groups excluded the HDP from their internal agreement. Moreover, HDP Group Deputy Chairman Meral Danış Beştaş expressed readiness to stand behind an opposition candidate. She said: “a single candidate is possible. But everyone has responsibilities to make this possible,” warning that if the HDP is not included in “discussions,” they will not support an opposition candidate for the 2023 presidency race. According to a new survey by a Turkish center, the ruling Party of Justice and Development (AKP) support has declined to 27.7 percent.