KURDISTAN

Latest News

• 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.
• Political genocide continues: 14 people detained in Amed 

  The number of people detained in early morning apartment raids in Amed has increased to 14. Among those arrested are 71-year-old Hatun Aslan and 79-year-old Meyrem Soylu. The operation is targeting relatives of martyrs.
• Guerrilla Qamishlo: The PKK gives women a great role 

  YJA STAR guerrilla Cudi Qamıshlo joined the guerrilla in 2019. She said that she lived in very difficult conditions as an Arab woman, and added that women are given great importance in the PKK.
• Drug traffic and prostitution organized by the state in Amed 

  In cities where self-government resistance has taken place, prostitution, drugs, games of chance and spying activities are organized by the police.
• HPG pays tribute to YJA Star commander Ararat Zerzan 

  HPG remembers female guerrilla commander Ararat Zerzan (Berivan Önal) who died as a result of a lightning strike in Medya Defense Zones.
• Turkey’s ongoing airstrikes target an Assyrian village in South Kurdistan 

  The Turkish state continues its genocidal attacks in various parts of Kurdistan.
• Maxmur people call for unity against Turkey's threats 

  The people of Maxmur, who have been subject to an embargo for a long time, called on the Kurds to unite against the invasions and threats of the Turkish state.
• YJA STAR guerrilla laid to rest after 6 months 

  Female guerrilla Medya Sönmez fell a martyr in an airstrike carried out by the Turkish army in the countryside of the Bitlis province in August last year. Her family has just been able to receive her remains.
• Turkish fighter jets shell Medya Defense Zones 

  Turkish fighter jets bombed Avashin, Zap, Metina, Qandil, Xakurkê, and Dêrîkê and Kanê villages in Medya Defense Zones.