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A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- Anti-government protests continued across Iran for the sixth week in a row despite the Iranian regime’s ongoing efforts to violently suppress them. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights claimed the regime is now targeting schools in Iranian Kurdistan and identified 57 students, 41 boys and 16 girls, that have been arrested so far. Most of the detained students were teenagers from high schools in Sena, Saqqez, Dewalan, Jayanrud, Qora, and Sawalaw. Concurrently, Iranian security forces arrested several activists in raids described by local human rights groups as “kidnappings.” Iranian authorities also tortured several detainees to death, including Ramin Fatihi in Sena, Arin Muradi in Kermanshah, and Mohammed Abdulallahi in Ilam. Mahmoud Hosseinipour, the governor of Mazandaran Province, described the detained protestors as “socially disadvantaged, children of divorced parents, and children from poor families.” That said, the regime’s clampdown on students and teachers led Iran’s teachers’ union to answer the call of Iranian opposition groups and support a general strike across much of the nation on Saturday. Additionally, university students in Tehran protested the regime and prevented a government spokesperson from attending a speaking engagement on Monday. Moreover, sugar factory, oil, and petrochemical workers went on strike in defiance of government restrictions. The Iranian regime has killed at least 244 demonstrators, including 12 children, and four Kurdish border porters (kolbars) since the latest demonstrations began on September 16.
Iraq
- Prime Minister-elect Mohammed Shi’a Sabbar al-Sudani met with political parties in his cabinet to discuss ministerial posts and attempt to resolve differences between Shi’ite, Sunni, and Kurdish parties. The Iranian-backed al Badr and State of Law Coalition, which is led by former prime minister Nouri al Maliki, are competing for control of the Ministry of Oil. At the same time, the Sunni parties al Taqadum, led by Speaker Halbousi, and Azem, led by the businessman Khamis Khanjar, are seeking control of the ministries of industry, commerce, planning, defense, and education and culture. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will probably share four ministries, one of which is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Iraqi authorities uncovered the theft of $2.5 billion from Iraq’s General Tax Authority and arrested at least one suspect attempting to flee to Turkey on Monday. Separately, Iranian authorities lifted visa requirements for Iraqis to generate additional commerce and tourism revenue for Iran’s flailing economy. Iraq remains one of Iran’s key trading partners and imported $8.9 billion worth of Iranian products in 2021.
- An IED killed three children in Kirkuk Governorate’s Adliyah village on October 17. ISIS (Da’esh) is believed to have emplaced the IED when they controlled the area, and the Iraqi Mine Action Agency reported that 32 locations in Kirkuk Governate still need to be cleared of mines and IEDs. Concomitantly, a Da’esh IED killed a Peshmerga officer and wounded seven others, including a senior commander, near Tuz Khurmatu. Finally, the German Bundestag extended Germany’s military mission in Iraq that provides training and assistance to Iraqi and Peshmerga forces tasked with countering Da’esh.
Syria
- Chaos continued in the Turkish-occupied Afrin after al Qaeda’s offshoot, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), fully controlled the city and some of the suburban areas. Despite Turkish mediation, the Turkish-backed terror group defeated several other factions within what so-called “Syrian National Army.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the death of ten civilians in battles between Turkish proxies and 48 terrorists. The HTS also controlled the area of Manbij, eastern Syria, raising concerns about its ruling across the Turkish-occupied region. The Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price told Rudaw they were monitoring the situation “very closely.” He said:” This is something that we’ve been focused on with partners in the region. Of course, instability in Syria, the ability of extremist groups, of terrorist groups to use Syrian territory to form a base, to plot, that is of concern to all of us.”
- The Autonomous Administration of North and East of Syria (AANES) handed over dozens of children and family members of Da’esh terrorists to Russia, Germany, and France. At least fifteen children returned to Russia after a government delegation met with the Kurdish-led AANES on October 20. Meanwhile, fifteen children and forty women were handed to the French government on the same day. Earlier in the month, Germany renationalized several Da’esh families as well. Still, thousands of foreign fighters, some with family members, remain in al Hol camp in Syria in the light of repeated calls by the AANES for the western countries to repatriate them.
Turkey
- During a speech in the Kurdish province Diyarbakir (Amed), Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked the jailed Kurdish politician accusing him of not being Kurdish. “This man is not Kurdish,” said Erdogan. In response, Demirtas said:” He’s so absorbed in one-man [ruling] that he decides what I am,” demanding Erdogan to ask people, “Who is the thief” in Turkey? Separately, the Turkish authorities arrested eleven journalists and reporters working for pro-Kurdish outlets after raids on offices and homes in Van, Istanbul, Ankara, Amed, and Urfa. At the same, the Turkish police detained many protesters rallying against Turkey’s use of chemical weapons in Iraqi Kurdistan.
- The Human Rights Watch said that the Turkish government “arbitrarily arrested, detained, and deported hundreds of Syrian refugee men and boys to Syria between February and July 2022,” The report addressed physical abuse facing the Syrians before deportation. “Although Turkey provided temporary protection to 3.6 million Syrian refugees, it now looks like Turkey,” said Nadia Hardman, Researcher, Refugee and Migrant Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.