Kurdistan’s Weekly Brief | May 7, 2024

A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Iran 

• Iranian security forces have detained fourteen Kurds in Shinno, including two local singers, for their participation in the Newroz celebration nearly seven weeks after the event. Additionally, authorities have apprehended two Kurds from Piranshahr, including a woman, a teenager in Mehabad, a journalist in Saqqez, and an Imam in Senna. Furthermore, ten Kurdish teachers in Senna have been summoned for their activism. According to the latest report from the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the regime arrested a total of 134 individuals in April, with 63 of them being Kurds. Concurrently, fifteen women have been detained, and three individuals on death row have been executed by Iranian authorities.
• Iranian border guards have fatally shot two Kurdish border porters (kolbar) in the Hangazhal village near Baneh, with ten others sustaining injuries in various incidents near the same area. Throughout April, at least four kolbars have been killed, and thirty have been injured by Iranian guards. The Hengaw Organization reports that armed clashes took place near the Hangazhal village on Thursday, resulting in casualties among Iranian security forces. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the clashes.

Iraq

• Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani paid a visit to Tehran, engaging in discussions with top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, with the objective of “enhancing relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran across various domains.” Given Iran’s military actions against the Kurdistan Region and its support for Baghdad’s anti-Kurdish policies, Barzani’s visit was seen as a move to address these concerns through dialogue with Iranian leaders. In response to Rudaw’s inquiry about Barzani’s visit, Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “we have always encouraged any conversations that would lead to de-escalation and would lead to further stability in the region, including vis-a-vis Iran, which of course has been one of the greatest contributors to instability in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.”  
• Following a complaint lodged at the Supreme Court against the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) regarding the allocation of parliamentary seats in Kurdistan, the Iraqi Supreme Court has temporarily halted IHEC’s activities pending a forthcoming ruling. The complaint was initiated by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani concerning IHEC’s distribution of parliamentary seats in the region. Should the court rule in favor of the complaint, it is likely that Kurdistan’s elections, originally scheduled for June 10, will be postponed to a later date.
• Community Peace Teams (CPT) reported that Turkish airstrikes near the Bradost region resulted in the deaths of two Iranian Kurds on May 1. Throughout 2024, Turkish forces have reportedly killed at least eight civilians in airstrikes targeting positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

 Syria 

• On Tuesday, May 7, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the repatriation of eleven Americans from Syria’s Northern East region. According to Blinken’s statement, 30,000 individuals from sixty countries remain in al-Hol and Roj camps, which house families affiliated with ISIS (Da’esh). Blinken urged countries to “repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate” their citizens, pledging U.S. support for these efforts. Last week, the Iraqi government permitted the return of 700 individuals associated with Da’esh, aiming to rehabilitate them with the assistance of international organizations. Concerns have heightened within the international community over the resurgence of Da’esh’s ideology among the younger generation in these camps, especially amid a notable increase in terrorist attacks in Syria and Iraq. On Tuesday, a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was killed in a Da’esh ambush in the Deir Ez Zor province. The SDF also reported the death of a Da’esh militant and the injury of another in a “failed assassination” attempt targeting an SDF commander in Busira town, Deir Ez Zor. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported clashes between the SDF and the Assad regime’s “national defense” forces near Shahil town. In Turkish-occupied Afrin, the SOHR documented 22 arbitrary arrests of civilians by factions supported by Turkey in April. Notably, the Turkish government has deployed Syrian proxies to engage in conflicts beyond Syria, including recent deployments to Niger.

Turkey 

• For the first time since the local elections, leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) met with the Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara. The Dem Party’s delegation included co-chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, along with vice co-chair Özlem Gündüz. Both parties stated that the meeting aimed to discuss the election outcomes and the current political landscape in Turkey and the broader region. CHP leader Özgür Özel expressed gratitude to the HDP, stating, “We had the opportunity to exchange ideas and evaluate the local election results and their implications for the upcoming general election and the challenges facing democracy in Turkey.” On a separate matter, Turkish authorities postponed a verdict in the case of veteran Kurdish politician Leyla Zana until July 2. Zana, a recipient of the Sakharov Prize in 1995, faces charges of “propaganda for a terrorist organization.” Concurrently, Turkish police detained two additional journalists associated with a pro-Kurdish media outlet and arrested fourteen members of the Dem Party in Urfa. In Mardin, thirteen Kurdish politicians received lengthy prison sentences for their involvement in supporting Kurdish self-rule in 2015.