812
Iran
- Ramin Hossein Panahi, a Kurdish man on death row in Iran who has gained international support to annul his death sentence, has been illegally transferred without his consent to a prison outside of Tehran, far away from his home. Panahi’s lawyers say that the transfer violates rules that prisoners be detained near their home.
- Kurdish fighters in Iran killed three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members and a police officer in two clashes on Tuesday, one in Sardasht, the other in Ravansar (see map.)
- The Iranian regime security forces have evicted 500 Kurdish villages in Kermanshah “for national security reasons” according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Association. The emptied villages border Iraqi Kurdistan, where rebels are active and fight against the IRGC. The residents of the villages have been expelled from their homes and the area has been converted to a military zone.
- Last week, following attacks from both Turkey and Iran on Kurdish targets, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (an Iranian offshoot of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK) called for unity among Kurdish parties in Iran to work together in coordination against the Iranian regime. Iranian Kurdish parties rejected the call for unity, declining to combine military forces and media platforms. Other parties deemed it impossible, unrealistic, or that the commission did not match their strategic goals.
Iraq
- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to create a new border crossing between Iraq and Turkey that is outside of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) control in Faysh Khabur, 12 kilometers west the Kurdistani Ibrahim Khalil gate. The new planned pipeline would exclude the KRG from the multi-billion dollar trade in oil between Iraq and Turkey. The KRG argues against Baghdad and Ankara building a new pipeline for Kirkuk oil that bypasses the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
- After firing Amir Khwakaram, the Kurdish mayor of Daquq, Rakan Saeed, the Baghdad-appointed governor of Kirkuk, has been summoned by the Federal Supreme Court. Khwakaram appealed to the Supreme Court after his ouster, which comes at a time of increasing instances of Arabization in the contested regions. Along with removing Kurds from their villages, 47 Kurds have been removed from their positions in the Kirkuk administration since October 16. Rakan Saeed and the head of the District Council of Daquq will both have to appear before the Supreme Court in October.
- On August 15 in Sinjiar, Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkish airstrikes assassinated Zaki Shingal on his way back from a memorial of the Yazidi genocide in Kocho. Zaki Shingal (real name Ismail Ozden) was a veteran senior member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who helped rescue thousands of Yazidis trapped by ISIS on Mt. Sinjar, by guiding them through the mountains into Syria. Though the PKK announced in March its withdrawal from Sinjar, Ankara does not distinguish between the PKK and its Yazidi allies.
- On August 20th, members of a U.S. delegation Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman met with KDP president Masoud Barzani, and discussed political issues in the region and in Iraq post-ISIS, focussing on the formation of the next Iraqi government. Barzani reaffirmed that the priority of the Kurdish blocs is a commitment to a true partnership with Baghdad based on cooperation and transparency.
Syria
- Jihadi groups backed by Turkey raided several homes and detained 20 Kurdish men in Kurzele village in Sherawa district, Qestal Kishk village in Shera district, and Rajo in the Afrin region. The jihadi groups arrested the Kurdish men for attempting to hold a protest against the living conditions in their areas since March 18, 2018 when Turkish-backed groups occupied Afrin. The jihadi groups also targeted people with links to the former Kurdish administration officials and the security forces, like the People’s Defense Units (YPG). In Afrin last week, more olive trees belonging to Kurdish residents were burned down by jihadi groups in near the Rajo district. Meanwhile, the Kurdish fighters of the “Wrath of Olives” group declared more attacks against the Turkish-backed jihadi groups in Afrin which included the assassination of a leader of the “al Mustafa” Islamic group active in Afrin.
- After airstrikes and preparations by the U.S.-led coalition to strike the last stronghold of ISIS in the north of Syria in Hijan city, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) received a letter representing the civilians of the town offering aid to liberate the town from the terror group. In the letter, the residents of the town acknowledged that ISIS has increased crackdowns on civilians even though their “capital” Raqqa was liberated last year. Hajin town is part the Deir ez-Zor Governorate which is located east of the Euphrates. The SDF is near to launching the liberation operation of Hijan backed by the U.S.-led coalition.
- During a briefing on August 17, the U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert announced the appointment of two U.S. officials to the Syria team who will work under Mike Pompeo. “Jim Jeffrey, a retired Foreign Service officer who most recently served as U.S. ambassador to Iraq, will rejoin the State Department as the Secretary’s Representative for Syria Engagement.” Nauert noted that Jeffery will be advising Secretary Pompeo. The second position she announced is to decrease Iran’s influence in Syria which will be led by Joel Rayburn, former National Security senior director for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. “DAS Rayburn is focusing on issues related to ending the Syrian conflict, emphasizing our strong opposition to Hizballah and the importance of a strong Lebanese Government, and the coordination of our strong bilateral ties with Jordan,” added Nauert. Meanwhile, a U.S. delegation visited Kobani and met with Kurdish local officials including the Co-chair of the Executive Council of Kobanî, Anwar Muslim. The U.S. delegation included Department of State adviser for Syria, Williams Roebuck, who is a former ambassador to Bahrain.
- In Haskah city, two brothers were severely injured by the explosion of a roadside IED (improvised explosive device). No group has claimed the terror attack yet.
Turkey
- On the recent political arrests, the Turkish police detained a dozen Kurds including the co-mayor of Kömür town in Adıyaman province. Most of the detainees were members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP). In Urfa, the Turkish army units detained ten people in Bozova district. On Tuesday morning the Turkish police detained six senior members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Ankara after raids to their houses.
- After the Turkish assassination by a drone on a Yazidi PKK leader in Iraqi Kurdistan, the HDP released a statement and condemned the assassination of Ismail Ozden. The HDP described the attack as “an attack against Yezidi society”. The HDP statement said, “We condemn the attack against Sinjar in the strongest possible manner.”
- After more than three years since being allowed to visit the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, the HDP party is planning to apply once again to the Minister of Justice to meet Ocalan. Prior to this attempt, Ocalan’s lawyers had applied more than 700 times to see their client but they were rejected by the Turkish government. In 2013, the Turkish government and Ocalan agreed on a peace process which ended the fight between the PKK and the Turkish government over the rights of the Kurds until the process ended in July of 2015.