Kurdistan’s Weekly Brief July 5

Turkey

• Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag issued a statement and condemned the attack in Istanbul Ataturk Airport. In the statement Demirtas and Yuksekdag pointed out that the government wasn’t qualified to bring stability and peace to Turkey.
• Curfews were lifted on the Lice district of Amed (Diyarbakir). Following the June 23^rd curfew on Lice district, a military operation occurred that resulted in civilian evacuations. According to the HD deputy Faysal Sariyildiz, the military operation resulted in a “massacre” of the civilian population of the district.. Sariyildiz said he will meet with the United Nations Human Rights council to relay the events in Lice.
• After the constitutional amendment to lift parliamentary immunities went into effect, eight more summaries of proceedings have been issued against four HDP deputies and HDP co-chairs Figen Yüksekdag and Selahattin Demirtas. Co-chair Figen Yuksekdag is accused of “slandering a public official” while Demirtas is accused of “terrorist propaganda.”

Syria

• Manbij Liberation Operations: During recent advances by the U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), 70 Manbij residents were killed by ISIS while trying to escape the city. The Manbij Military Council (MMC) reached Abu Layla’s home in the al-Asadya neighborhood. The liberating forces have reached inside the city and clashes continue in the neighborhoods. On July 4^th MMC announced the death of tens of ISIS members while trying to break the siege on the city south of Jarablos on Rafee’a village from the three axes.
• The Executive Body in Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) was surprised by the United Nations’ Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura’s recent statements that the Kurds represent only five percent of the total Syrian population. TEV-DEM stated that they consider this statement distorting and dwarfing “perhaps unintentionally” to the fact and the existence of the Kurdish people.
• The Rojava and northern Syria administration is preparing a draft of a “Social Contract” for a possible future Federal system in Syria. The contract, which works similarly to a constitution, not only defines the governing forms of this proposed Federal system but also outlines new political and social relations between the various Arab, Kurdish, Turkmen, and Assyrian areas of Syria. The draft proposes to establish Qamishli as the capital of Rojava and of the northern Syrian region (a political region that would be officially established under this theoretical Federal system).
• On July 3rd and 4th, clashes broke out between pro-Assad militias and Kurdish security forces (Asayesh) in Hasaka. Several pro-Assad militias and two Asayesh were killed as a result of the clashes.

Iraq

• The Kurdistan Regional Government rejected statements by the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Sardar Hossein Salami, in which he threatened to destroy the Kurdistan Region. The KRG’s statement said that “we strongly reject this inappropriate threat of Sardar Salami and consider it as a stance that does not correspond to the old friendly relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Additionally, Iranian consuls asserted that Tehran would never be a threat to Kurdistan. The Iranian officials reassured that there had been a misunderstanding in Salami’s statement.
• Peshmerga forces foiled an attack by ISIS west of Kirkuk. Nahro Koyi, a Peshmerga commander told NRT that one Peshmerga was wounded and at least one ISIS member was killed in clashes that began early Monday. On Saturday June 2^nd, Peshmerga forces also repelled an attack by Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Tel Asqof, north of Mosul. According to Peshmerga commanders, a number of ISIS members were killed during the attack.

Iran

• The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) announced that it will continue their “struggle until Kurds are free.” In mid-June clashes broke out between the Iranian revolutionary guards and KDPI Peshmerga in western Iran.

• According to Roj News agency, the Giwezile village of Serdest has been under blockade by Iranian soldiers. The soldiers have been confiscating the goods of villagers and preventing them from doing border trading. Villagers condemned the soldiers’ attacks, and stated that the soldiers killed two people from Serdeshet named Letif and Reuf Alixani on June 28th.