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Iran
- After the assassination of a prominent Kurdish member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDP-I) two weeks ago in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the KDP-I announced the arrest of five men and a woman linked to Qadir Qadri’s death. Prior to their arrest, the KDP-I accused the Iranian regime of the recent assassinations against their members.
- The Iranian regime has tightened the security in major Kurdish cities before the celebrations of the Kurdish New Year (Newroz). Following the recent uprising in Iranian Kurdistan, the Iranian regime prepared its military and militias to cease any protests or if the celebration of the Kurdish cities turns into protests against the regime.
- As part of continuous crackdowns after the uprising, the Iranian regime has arrested a Kurdish man in Sanandaj city. The Kurdistan Human Rights Association reported that intelligence officers of the regime had arrested Aziz Mawloudi and he was taken to an undisclosed location. Near Sanandaj, in Kamirwan district the Iranian regime’s security forces arrested 8 Kurdish protesters after participating in protests last week against the Turkish invasion of Afrin.
Iraq
- In a statement, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi announced the release of salaries of the employees of Kurdistan region. He said: “The federal Finance Ministry paid all salaries of employees of Kurdistan region including Peshmerga. Auditing is ongoing to ensure transparency.” Later the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) published a statement stressing that the amount that Baghdad has released is not enough to cover the retirement salaries of the region due to a shortage of allocation by Baghdad in 2018’s budget.
- Large Turkish military forces were deployed at the Kurdistan region’s borders last week. According to various reports, the Turkish military has invaded 10 miles inside of Kurdistan region of Iraq and have set up checkpoints near Baradust district. Prior to the deployment of the Turkish forces, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu said that they have agreed with the Iraqi government to fight the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Qandil mountains on the border of the Turkey-Iran-Kurdistan region.
- In a press conference, the speaker of the Kirkuk provincial council Rebwar Talabani said they have filed a lawsuit at the federal court against the prime minister of Iraq for the events of October 16, 2017, where militias attacked Kirkuk under the name of Iraq’s security forces which resulted in the displacement of thousands of people and death among tens of Peshmerga forces. On March 20, in Kirkuk, hundreds of people celebrated the Newroz day, as tens of Kurdistan region flags were flown by the people amid deployment of Iraq’s anti-terror in the Kurdish neighborhoods.
Syria
- After nearly two months of airstrikes, bombardment by the Turkish military and its extremist groups on the Afrin region, the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG) withdrew from the city of Afrin. On March 18, the Jihadi groups with Turkish forces entered Afrin, followed by looting of Kurdish properties that remains ongoing. The operation led to displacement of more than 150 thousand Kurds from Afrin to the rural areas under the control of the Syrian regime. In a statement, the YPG said they withdrew from the city to avoid civilian casualties. The YPG vowed to continue their “resistance” against the Turkish occupation and the Jihadi groups. Following the humanitarian crises in Afrin the U.S. Department of State released a statement concerning Afrin. “The United States is deeply concerned over reports from Afrin City over the last 48 hours. It appears the majority of the population of the city, which is predominantly Kurdish, evacuated under threat of attack from Turkish military forces and Turkish backed opposition forces,” read the statement. The Kurdish officials accused Turkey of ethnic cleansing in Afrin. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to attack the Kurdish cities of Qamishli and Kobani after Afrin where the U.S. bases are located in Syria. The United Nations also called for urgent help for Afrin and eastern Guata where the Syrian regime is attacking civilians there. On March 15, the European Parliament approved a motion calling the Turkish forces to withdraw from Afrin but Turkey has ignored the calls. Meanwhile several Kurdish activists launched a hunger strike in front of the United Nations building in Geneva against the Turkish invasion of Afrin.
Turkey
- On the anniversary of the Halabja massacre by the former dictator Saddam Hussein, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) released a statement titled “Halabja yesterday, Afrin today.” In comparison between Halabja and Afrin the HDP statement read: “Today, a similar mentality to that in the past, which tried to suppress a legitimate struggle with chemical and biological weapons in Halabja, is attacking civilians, women, children and elderly people in Afrin.” The HDP concluded the statement saying: “Today, we urge those who seek to protect and maintain their rule by war, occupation and setting peoples against each other to take lessons from history.”
- On March 16, the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal session held a hearing about the Turkish military attacks on Kurdish civilians in Cizre, Sur, and Shirnak in 2016. Witnesses addressed the situation of civilians then. One witness who is a former lawmaker of the HDP Faysal Sariyildiz said: “The massacre in Cizre was a planned forced-migration, terrorization and genocide in postmodern terms.” Also, the sessions discussed the assassination of three Kurdish activists in Paris in 2013.