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A weekly brief of events occurred in the Kurdistan regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Iran
- The Iranian regime arrested a number of Kurdish activists last week, including Zara Nabizadeh in Mehabad, Hataw Akrami and Afsaneh Shahii in Bokan, Hamidreza Arovaneh in Dehloran, Sajjad Moradivandan in Abdanan, Osman Galawezhi in Piranshahr, Massud Dalawand in Khurmawa, Adel Khalani in Sardasht, Matin Mehdizadeh in Shinno, Seyad Amhedian in Takab, and Houshmand Moradi in Tehran. Many of the detainees are charged with mocking the death of former Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said the Iranian regime detained 141 people in May, 80 of whom were Kurds. Meanwhile, Iranian border guards killed a 19-year-old Kurdish border porter (kolbar) near Baneh and wounded two others near Marivan and Shinno. Another kolbar died after falling into a river while trying to evade Iranian authorities in Sardasht.
- 17 current and former Iranian officials have registered to run in the nation’s presidential election on June 28. Among the candidates are former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) Ali Larijani, a conservative member of the Expediency Discernment Council named Saeed Jalili, and a hardline former female member of the Majlis named Zohreh Elahian. It is unclear if Ahmadinejad and Larijani’s candidacies will be allowed to continue, as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei previously banned them from running for the presidency.
Iraq
- Iraq’s Ministry of Oil called for an immediate meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources and the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) to discuss Iraqi Kurdistan’s stalled oil exports. The Ministry of Oil released a statement claiming the purpose of the meeting is “reaching an agreement to accelerate the restart of production to resume oil exports.” The KRG and the APIKUR have repeatedly called for the Iraqi government to end the freeze on Iraqi Kurdistan’s exports, which has cost Iraq billions of dollars since it was implemented in March 2023. It remains unclear when the exports will resume, but the APIKUR said its member companies are “prepared to resume exports, contingent upon reaching agreements that provide for payment surety for past and future exports, direct payment and preservation of commercial terms.” Separately, Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani in Baghdad to discuss Iraqi Kurdistan’s budget, most notably public employee salaries. “A permanent resolution to payment disputes would allow us to prioritize cooperation in the oil and gas, banking, digital, and agriculture sectors,” said Barzani. Iraqi Kurdistan’s estimated share of the Iraqi budget is nearly 22 trillion dinars, but Baghdad must agree to release the funds.
- The United Nations Security Council responded to Iraq’s official request to end the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) by voting unanimously to extend the UNAMI through December 31, 2025. It is unclear whether the UNAMI will be renewed again after that, as Iraq requested it be ended in 2025. At the same time, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, whose expulsion was called for on several occasions by pro-Iran militias and politicians, will leave Iraq to work in Lebanon. Hennis-Plasschaert worked in Iraq for five years and said in her farewell message, “Throughout the country, including the Kurdistan Region, countless people of all ages spontaneously shared, time and again, their hopes and aspirations.”
- At least one Turkmen party ended its boycott of Iraqi Kurdistan’s elections after Iraqi courts returned five of the 11 annulled seats reserved for minorities in the Kurdistan Parliament. A senior official from the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced the party was also planning to participate in the elections. The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) suggested the elections be held on September 5 pending an announcement from the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region. According to election officials, nearly three million people have received voter registration cards so far.
Syria
- Turkish drones have launched multiple airstrikes, targeting the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). As a result, at least six SDF members were killed, and twelve civilians were wounded near Qamishli and Hasakah. One of the airstrikes targeted an ambulance transporting the injured to a hospital. This recent Turkish aggression comes after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened a new military invasion if the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration for North and East of Syria (AANES) proceeds with the planned local election on June 11. The US also opposes the elections in the region, citing a lack of compliance with ‘UN Security Council Resolution 2254’. The AANES condemned the Turkish attacks and stated, “The Turkish occupation aims to destroy the democratic project and thwart the holding of municipal elections,” urging the international community to “fulfill its responsibilities to stop the Turkish aggression.” Amid ongoing pressure, four Kurdish parties have requested a delay in the elections, according to officials in the electoral commission.
- At least 560 Iraqi citizens have left the al Hol camp, which houses ISIS (Da’esh) families. This development is part of an agreement between the AANES and the Iraqi government, with international support, aimed at reducing the camp’s population and mitigating the threat of a resurgence of ISIS activities. In a related development, the SDF has reported the arrest of a terrorist in Tel Hamis who was involved in smuggling Da’esh families, including women and children. Additionally, the SDF’s anti-terror units, known as YAT, have successfully neutralized five terrorists in a confrontation during a raid near al Dahla in the Deir Ez Zor province, with assistance from the US-led coalition. As per the YAT, two terrorists were captured during the operation.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported more than 30 arbitrary arrests against civilians in May by the Turkish-backed factions in occupied Afrin. Last week, several clashes erupted between various Turkish proxies that resulted in deaths and injuries among armed groups.
Turkey
- After two months of the local elections, the Turkish government began to take action against the elected Kurdish mayors. On Sunday, Turkish police surrounded the municipal building in Hakkari after arresting its Kurdish Mayor, Mehmet Sıddık Akış, earlier in Van. A new pro-government trustee was appointed on Monday, leading to anger and protests despite government restrictions. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Dem) denied the government’s allegations of the mayor’s “membership ” in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which date back to 2009. Since 2016, over a hundred elected Kurdish officials have been removed and replaced by pro-government trustees across the Kurdish region. The Dem Party described the removal of the Kurdish mayor as “a clear coup against the will of the people,” accusing Erdgoan’s party and his ultra-nationalist allies of seeking to “get back at their significant defeat in the local elections by targeting the DEM Party municipalities.” Additionally, Ayşegül Doğan, the spokesperson for the pro-Kurdish Dem Party, was prevented from traveling to Europe for a conference despite being taken off the travel ban in 2023 due to her political activism. This government crackdown comes as the country’s inflation recently reached a record high of 75%.