KURDISTAN

Latest News

• Military operation in Lice countryside 

  An air-supported military operation has been started in the countryside of Amed (Diyarbakır) province.
• Maxmur people commemorate 2004 Qamishlo Uprising 

  Makhmur Assembly of Martyrs' Families made a statement to mark the 17th anniversary of Qamishlo Uprising and emphasized that Kurdish lands have been saved in Rojava thanks to this resistance.
• Mother stages sit-in to protest killing of her husband and sons 

  HDP members visited Emine Şenyaşar, who continues her resistance in front of the courthouse in Urfa. Şenyaşar is protesting the murder of her husband and two sons by the bodyguards and relatives of AKP Deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız.
• Delegation from Shengal meets with Iraqi officials, conveys their demand for decentralization 

  Following the march attended by thousands of people in Shengal, a delegation of the Shengal Democratic Autonomous Council and notables met with Iraqi officials on Thursday and conveyed their demand for decentralization.
• KNK: Hands off Shengal! 

  KNK called upon the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and world human rights organisations to work to protect the Yazidis from future massacres.
• Thousands march in Shengal 

  Thousands of people have started marching in Shengal.
• Iraqi forces attack villagers on their way to Shengal for protest march 

  Iraqi military forces attacked residents of the Tilizer village who were on their way to Shengal to join the protest march.
• Shengal Autonomous Council: Every attack will be answered 

  The situation in the Yazidi region of Shengal in southern Kurdistan continues to escalate. The Iraqi government wants to take control of the Yazidi security forces, and the Shengal Autonomous Council vows resistance.
• HDP Hewler: Our members face pressure, forced to spy on each other 

  In South Kurdistan, HDP members are pressured by the KDP’s intelligence service to spy on each other. Repression against those politically persecuted from Turkey has increased in recent months.
• HPG publishes the names of two fallen guerrillas 

  The HPG Press Center released the names of two guerrilla fighters who fell in 2020, saying, "Whatever the cost, we will not back down and will keep our word to win freedom."
• Activists arrested by KDP enter 21st day of hunger strike 

  Journalists and activists from Behdinan arrested by the KDP in South Kurdistan have been on a hunger strike for 21 days, but they are not allowed to meet with their families.
• Dr. Hisham Zêbari: KDP hosts murderers of Kurds and contradicts itself 

  Duhok University academic, Dr. Hisham Zêbari, said that the KDP was contradicting itself by establishing relations with the murderers of Kurds.
• "The epical resistance in Garê brought guerrillas closer to success" 

  YJA Star guerrilla Bêrîtan Botan and HPG guerrilla Mahîr Cûdî said that the epical resistance in Garê brought guerrillas closer to success.
• Turkish fighter jets shell Medya Defense Zones 

  Turkish fighter jets carried out bombardments in the Medya Defense Zones. HPG reported no casualties during the air strikes.
• The first bullet in the uprising in Southern Kurdistan 

  Thirty years ago the Raperîn, the uprising against the Saddam regime, began in Southern Kurdistan. The first bullet was fired in Ranya by Elî Nebî. His son Şoreş remembers the peshmerga fighter.
• HDP MPs stage sit-in outside the Governor’s Office in Van 

  HDP MP Muazzez Orhan said that they will continue to protest in front of the governor's office until the "bans on gatherings and events" in Van is lifted.
• KDP poisoning journalists and activists from Behdinan 

  There are concerns about Behdinan activists who are currently in prison. According to information obtained from local sources, a virulent poison is mixed into the drinking water of the activists.
• HPG publishes identity of Xakurke martyrs 

  Guerrilla fighters Mervan Reşo, Demhat Bakur, Bedran Hawêl and Azad Semedar were martyred in Turkish airstrikes in Xakurke in October 2020.
• Mayor of Yüksekova sentenced to seven years in prison 

  Irfan Sari, co-mayor of the district of Yüksekova, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison as an alleged member of a terrorist organization.
• Shengal people marched to condemn betrayal in Xanesor 

  The people of Shengal marched to condemn the betrayal of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on the anniversary of the Xanesor attack.
• Shengal: From mourning to a new life 

  Despite the great persecution, the people of Shengal is returning to their lands to rebuild their life. These lands teach the people to resist, to turn pain into anger.
• KCK: The KDP must end handing over Kurdish politicians and revolutionaries to the Turkish state 

  KCK Executive Council, issued a statement on the Kurdish politician Ömer Bartan, who took refuge in South Kurdistan and has being handed over to Turkey by the KDP.
• Systematic bans on gatherings and events continue in Kurdish cities 

  The state of emergency in Kurdish cities has been systematically extended for years.
• HPG pays tribute to martyrs of Van 

  The HPG have published the names of four guerrillas who fell as martyrs in a battle against the Turkish army in Van in October 2019.
• Call for investigation into use of chemical gas in Turkish operation in Gare 

  Despite the confession of the Turkish Minister of Defence and the accounts of PKK commander Murat Karayılan, the silence of international organizations including the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) catches the attention.