966
Iran
- The Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan said Iranian security forces ambushed and captured a group of its Peshmerga in Urmia. Komala claimed the Peshmerga were engaged in “organizational activity” and said it would release more details in the “coming days.” Meanwhile, unknown gunmen killed a retired Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officer named Loqman Shahidi in Sarvabad (Sawalawa). Several Kurdish rights groups asserted Shahidi participated in crackdowns on Kurds. Separately, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) accused the Iranian Army (Artesh) of destroying a large swath of forest during a military exercise near Marivan.
- Iranian border guards clashed with an unknown Kurdish group near Baneh on July 20. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported two Iranian border guards were killed in the skirmish. Concurrently, Iranian border guards killed one Kurdish border porter (kolbar) and wounded four in Baneh and Nowsud last week.
- Sanandaj’s Islamic Revolutionary Court held the first hearing in the trial of 36 Kurdish activists arrested in November 2021 for ties with Kurdish parties and “rebellion.” Many of the defendants organized general strikes and protests against the Iranian regime’s economic policies and poor living conditions in Iranian Kurdistan.
Iraq
- Turkish artillery killed nine tourists and wounded 23 in Dohuk Governorate’s Zakho District on July 20. Most of the tourists were Arabs from southern Iraq. The attack raised outrage amongst the Iraqi public and was condemned by local, federal, and international officials. Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed a complaint with the United Nations Security Council to stop Turkey’s ongoing invasion and attacks. The Security Council will hold an emergency session to discuss the Zakho strike on July 26. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein denounced Turkey’s attack on Zakho and accused it of “occupying Iraq” under the pretense of fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Protests also broke out in response to the attack, and angry demonstrators stormed several Turkish buildings, including the Turkish embassy in Baghdad. The remains of the victims from Wednesday’s attack were received by President of Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil on July 21.
- Iranian-backed militias kidnapped and tortured an off-duty Peshmerga named Ayman Abdi Jassem near Amerli on July 23. The militants assaulted Jassem, insulted his Kakai faith, and shaved his mustache. Hundreds of Kakai Kurds protested the attack and called for the Iraqi government to arrest the perpetrators immediately. The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs described the act as “ugly, far from all customs and laws” and demanded the attackers be arrested. On July 25, a delegation from the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) met with senior Kakai leaders and requested “some days” to find the perpetrators and hand them over for prosecution.
- The Iranian-backed parliamentary coalition known as the Coordination Framework formally nominated Mohammed Shia’ al Sudani for the post of prime minister on July 25. Al Sudani is a former member of the Dawa Party and governor of Maysan. Before the 2021 parliamentary elections, al Sudani resigned from Dawa and formed the Euphrates Stream Party, which won three seats in Iraq’s Council of Representatives. The Council of Representatives has yet to set to date for the presidential election that will precede the selection of a prime minister. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) held several meetings to discuss the selection of a presidential candidate but have yet to announce a consensus on the matter.
- Unknown militants bombarded the Khor Mor gas field in Sulaymaniyah Governorate’s Chamchamal District for the fourth time in less than a month on July 25. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources said, “There were no casualties, and the natural gas production process was not affected.” The UAE-based Dana Gas manages the Khor Mor field, and suspected Iranian-backed militias began targeting it after Kurdish plans to export natural gas to Europe via Turkey were revealed.
Syria
- Two separate Turkish airstrikes on July 20 and July 22 killed five female members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Among those killed was SDF Deputy Commander Salwa Yousif, who was leading the fight against ISIS (Da’esh). The first strike destroyed a vehicle near Kobani and killed Kendal Rojava and Barkhudan Kobani. The second hit a car near Qamishil, killing Yousif, Jwana Hasso, and Raha Bashar. Thousands of locals in Hasaka Governorate attended the funeral of the slain SDF members, and the US-led coalition extended condolences. Simultaneously, the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) condemned the Turkish attack and faulted the US-led coalition and international community for failing to stop Turkish aggression. “The international coalition, before others, must uphold its responsibilities in the fight against ISIS and support those who stand in their face to fight global terrorism. We also call upon the international community, officials, and civilians to break their silence and transcend their timid positions to stand up to Turkish arrogance and stop it at its geographical and political borders,” read the AANES statement.
Turkey
- Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to convince Iran and Russia to support his new invasion plans into Syria. The three leaders, Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, and Ebrahim Raisi, held a trilateral meeting in Tehran last Tuesday. Previously, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei refused to back Turkey.
- The jailed Kurdish politician, former leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, said his party is not “an extension” of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and called upon them to “silence the weapons against Turkey.” In reaction, the leader of the largest opposition party, Kemel Kiliçdaroglu, described Demirtas’s remarks as “important” and called for his release since he is a “political prisoner.” Demirtas has been in prison by the Turkish government since November 2016. Meanwhile, pro-government outlets launched a media campaign accusing the HDP as part of the PKK., but the HDP denounced it and called it “slander and lies” used to prosecute the party’s lawmakers.
- Antalya police arrested seven HDP Youth Council members for protesting Turkey’s bombardment of Iraqi Kurdistan. At the same time, Bar Associations in seven Kurdish provinces called the Turkish attack on civilians in Iraqi Kurdistan “the second Roboski Massacre”, in reference to Turkey’s massacre against Kurds in 2011, which killed 34 civilians.