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A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- A Kurdish teenager named Armita Geravand died in a Tehran hospital on Saturday after spending several weeks in a coma. Geravand, like Zhina Amini, was attacked by Iran’s morality police at a metro station for not wearing a hijab. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan responded to Geravand’s passing by stating, “Iran’s state-sponsored violence against its own citizens is concerning and highlights the challenges facing the regime.” The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported that Iranian authorities arrested two of Geravand’s relatives and prevented her family from burying her in her hometown of Kermanshah. At the same time, the Iranian regime arrested Hamza Pirozi and Soran Sahragard in Marivan, Saman Mohammedi and Woria Ibrahimi in Senna, Mohammed Kadakhoda in Bokan, and Ramin Wali Nazhad and Hamid Himati in Ilam. Moreover, Jwanru’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced a Kurdish environmental activist named Yasser Noori to four months in prison for “propaganda against the state.” Senna’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced two members of the Nozhin Organization, which focuses on cultural and linguistic issues, to ten years in prison. Idrees Manbari and Serwa Pourmohammadi were charged with activism and participating in Zhina Amini’s funeral. Lastly, Iranian border guards killed two Kurdish border porters (kolbar) in separate incidents near Baneh and Marivan. Regime forces also wounded at least ten kolbars near Nowsud.
Iraq
- Despite reaching agreements with Erbil, Baghdad has not released funds for public employee salaries in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) again called for Baghdad to “disburse the salaries and financial entitlements of Iraqi Kurdistan” after a KRG-Baghdad audit confirmed the total number of public sector employees in the region. A committee of KRG financial officials has visited Baghdad twice in two weeks to try and resolve the situation, and Iraqi Kurdistan’s public employees have yet to receive their salaries for August.
- On Thursday, U.S. Department of Defense Spokesperson Patrick Ryder said an attack on a U.S. base perpetrated by Iranian militias was unsuccessful and only caused minor damage to local infrastructure. Iranian-backed militias and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have targeted U.S. troops, energy facilities, the Peshmerga, and Iranian opposition parties in Iraqi Kurdistan at least 32 times since 2018.
- A member of the Missionary Community Peacemaker Teams organization told Rudaw that on October 25, Turkey conducted airstrikes in the Kurdistan Region, striking the area a total of “23 times.” These airstrikes targeted several villages as part of Turkey’s ongoing conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Concurrently, Iraq’s National Security Advisor, Qassim al Araki, made a visit to Sulaymaniyah province, where he held a press conference and disclosed a new security agreement with Turkey concerning “armed groups” within the country. In March, Iran entered into a “border security” agreement with Baghdad, leading to the removal of Iranian Kurdish opposition parties from the border regions.
Syria
- The U.S. military struck two facilities belonging to pro-Iranian militias and the IRGC in Syria. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated the strikes were a response to recent drone and rocket attacks on U.S. forces across the Middle East and were directed by President Biden. No Americans were killed in the attacks, but several were injured. The Tehran-backed group known as the “Islamic Resistance” has claimed credit for most of the attacks, which are aimed at limiting the U.S.’s willingness to support Israeli operations in Gaza and push U.S. forces out of the Middle East. On October 30, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency claimed pro-Iranian forces targeted a U.S. base at the al Omar oil field in Deir ez Zor Governorate with 15 rockets.
- Assad regime militias under the banner of the National Defense Forces (NDF) tried to attack Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled territory east of the Euphrates River in Deir ez Zor Governorate. NDF fighters attempted to infiltrate the towns of Diban, Abu Hardoub, and Abu Hamam and attacked them with artillery, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. At least 19 NDF militants were allegedly killed in the latest round of clashes in the governorate, and pro-Damascus and pro-Tehran groups remain committed to infiltrating, subverting, and retaking all of northeastern Syria. Hashem al Sattam, the commander of the Iranian-backed Usud al-Uqaydat militia, was recently photographed crossing the Euphrates to coordinate anti-SDF operations.
- Turkey and its proxies continued exploiting Afrin’s olive harvest last week. Several Syrian National Army (SNA) factions violently clashed over revenues from levies on olive harvests and olive oil stolen from local Kurds. Turkish-backed groups have stolen many olive trees from the region, extorted local farmers, and committed ethnic cleansing against local Kurds since Turkey invaded the region in 2018. This latest conflict over revenues from the olive trade stems from disputes between two commanders from the Sultan Murad Division in Afrin’s Bobol District’s Qornah village, though more factions and groups are likely to become involved in the coming weeks. On a different note, Muhammad Shibli, a senior SDF commander, was killed in a Turkish drone strike while he was at home in Derik. Shibli served as a coordinator between the SDF and the US-led Global Coalition in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and played a prominent role in anti-ISIS efforts starting in 2014. His funeral in Derik drew many residents who protested Turkey’s aggression and mourned his loss.
Turkey
- A Turkish court has officially charged four members of two pro-Kurdish political parties with being members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkish authorities arrested Ali Gultepe, a senior member of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) members Cuneyt Yesilyurt, Ridvan Ulasman, and Niyazi Artun during raids in Istanbul and Tekirdag provinces. Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) Party Assembly member Naif Bulğa and HEDEP Youth Council member Mazlum Kaya were also detained in Mersin Province on October 28. In addition, Turkish authorities arrested HEDEP executive Hülya Ateş after accusing her of disseminating “terrorist propaganda” on social media. The Turkish government has detained thousands of Kurds in recent weeks on charges related to affiliation with the PKK in an attempt to marginalize Turkey’s Kurds and crack down on opposition to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued to express strong support for Palestinians in the wake of Israel’s campaign against Hamas. Erdogan characterized Israel as an occupier and asserted Hamas was not a terrorist organization during a speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters on Saturday. Erdogan also asserted the Turkish military may be deployed against Israeli forces in Gaza and accused the West of being responsible for the most recent conflict there. Of course, Erdogan has a long history of targeting Kurds in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey with ethnic cleansing, sieges, indiscriminate military strikes, and mass arrest campaigns.
- The Kobanî trial continued with statements from imprisoned HDP politician Bülent Parmaksız. Parmaksız asserted that the HDP will continue its struggle for Kurdish human rights. He also contended the Constitutional Court of Turkey should view the Kobanî protests as falling under the category of freedom of expression and reiterated Turkey’s Kurds want equal rights instead of a separate state. “There is not a single piece of evidence regarding the allegations of dividing the country’s territory,” said Parmaksız in response to the prosecution’s allegations he and his fellow defendants were pursuing a separatist agenda. Lastly, Parmaksız conveyed that it is in Turkey’s best interest to come to an agreement with its Kurdish movement, as ongoing conflict will only hurt Turkey’s regional interests in places like Iraq.
- The Turkish military paraded through the overwhelmingly Kurdish and pro-HDP city of Şirnak on Saturday. Hundreds of soldiers with rifles in full battle dress marched down one of Şirnex’s main streets in an attempt to intimidate the city’s Kurdish population. The parade coincided with the one-hundredth anniversary of the Turkish Republic’s founding and was almost certainly meant to communicate the state’s Turkish character to local residents.