All posts tagged: Kurdish

Erdogan Ally Wants Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader to Have Official Status

Erdogan Ally Wants Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader to Have Official Status

Published by Sam Flores

By Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA, May 5 (Reuters) – ⁠Turkish ⁠nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli said ⁠on Tuesday the jailed head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ​should be given an official role to help advance a peace process aimed at ending a decades-long ‌conflict. Bahceli, a close ally of President ‌Tayyip Erdogan who in 2024 effectively initiated the process with a call for peace, made ⁠the proposal ⁠a week after pro-Kurdish lawmakers accused the government of moving too slowly.  “If ​there is a lack of status for Abdullah Ocalan, this should be addressed in a way that clearly benefits the Republic of Turkey and serves the goal of a terror-free Turkey,” Bahceli said in ​a parliamentary speech.  “To end these discussions, I propose that it be called the ‘Peace Process and ⁠Politicisation ⁠Coordination Office’,” Bahceli said, adding ⁠that the “founding ​leader of the PKK should serve under a defined role.” Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, a senior lawmaker ​from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, ⁠welcomed Bahceli’s proposals in comments to Reuters. “Both his assessment …

The Kurdish Ground Force Preparing to Fight in Iran

The Kurdish Ground Force Preparing to Fight in Iran

Published by José Betancourt

Earlier this month, high in the snow-capped mountains near the border between Iran and Iraq, a Kurdish rebel led me down a foot trail to the opening of a cave. We stepped inside and walked about 50 yards along a dark man-made passageway where water dripped steadily from the rocky ceiling. Then we turned down one of the cave’s branching tunnels and passed through a wood-framed entryway into a brightly lit and immaculate room with a long table and a television mounted on a wall. A dozen men and women wearing the short jackets, baggy trousers, and waist sashes of the Kurdish rebels known as the Peshmerga greeted me. These were the leaders of the Kurdistan Free Life Party, better known as PJAK, which has been aspiring to topple the Iranian regime for decades. “We are on the trigger finger,” one of them told me. “After 22 years in the movement, we have never been this busy.” The American-Israeli effort to bring down the Iranian regime is not likely to succeed without the help of …

Syrian Kurds return home to celebrate Nowruz for the first time since exile

Syrian Kurds return home to celebrate Nowruz for the first time since exile

Published by Sam Flores

AL BASOUTA, Syria (AP) — Abdul Rahman Omar fled his village in the Afrin district in northern Syria eight years ago as a Turkish offensive against Kurdish fighters swept across the area. Now he is among hundreds of Kurds who have recently returned to Afrin. He joined neighbors in celebrating the spring festival of Nowruz for the first time since their return from exile, and for the first time after the government declared the celebration a national holiday. Nowruz, the Farsi-language word for “new year,” is an ancient Persian festival that is also celebrated by Kurds in Syria, Turkey and Iraq as well as Iran. It is characterized by colorful street festivals and torch-bearing processions winding their way into the mountains. The 3,000-year-old festival is rooted in the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism and is marked by people across faiths including Zoroastrians, Muslims, Christians, Jews and those of the Baha’i faith as well as by millions in the diaspora. Omar joined a row of young men and women in a line dance to a pounding beat …

‘Kurds can play a significant role in a breakthrough in Iran,’ Iranian Kurdish leader says – Tête à tête

‘Kurds can play a significant role in a breakthrough in Iran,’ Iranian Kurdish leader says – Tête à tête

Published by Sam Flores

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Abdullah Mohtadi, secretary-general of the Iranian Kurdish opposition Komala party, said Kurds “can play a very significant role in making a breakthrough” in Iran. He pointed to “serious signs of weakness” among security forces in Kurdish regions of Iran and said “tens of thousands” of young people were ready to take up arms – without, he claimed, any foreign backing. Speaking to FRANCE 24 from an undisclosed location, Mohtadi described the Kurds as “the most organised section of Iranian society,” citing their track record in organising mass protests, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and general strikes. With peshmerga forces ready, he said, if “protected (and) supported enough by the United States, we can do a lot of things”, adding that such a move “can be the beginning of the liberation of Iran.” ‘We have not been aided or helped by any foreign power yet’ Mohtadi denied receiving any foreign backing despite widespread reports of CIA and Mossad plans to arm Kurdish Iranian fighters and move them across the Iraqi border. “We …

Kurdish fighters say Iran ground operation ‘highly likely’ | Kurds News

Kurdish fighters say Iran ground operation ‘highly likely’ | Kurds News

Published by Sam Flores

Babasheikh Hosseini, the Iraq-based secretary general of the Khabat Organisation of Iranian Kurdistan, has told Al Jazeera it is highly likely that Iraq-based Iranian Kurdish fighters will stage a ground operation in Iran, confirming that the US had made contact. Published On 7 Mar 20267 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link

Exclusive-Israel Backing Iranian Kurdish Plans to Seize Iran Border Areas, Sources Say

Exclusive-Israel Backing Iranian Kurdish Plans to Seize Iran Border Areas, Sources Say

Published by Sam Flores

JERUSALEM, March 6 (Reuters) – Israel has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish militias ⁠who hope ⁠to exploit the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran to seize towns ⁠near the frontier, according to three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions. The notion of an offensive by Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq ​gained attention on Friday when U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters it would be “wonderful” if they crossed the border. A Kurdish insurgency could have serious consequences for Iran as it defends itself against the air campaign. The militias have consulted with ‌the U.S. about how and whether to attack Iran’s ‌security forces, Reuters has reported. ISRAELI TALKS WITH IRANIAN KURDS STRETCH BACK A YEAR Israel has been holding its own talks with Iranian Kurdish insurgent groups based in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan for around a year, two Iranian ⁠Kurdish sources said, while an ⁠Israeli source said talks had been “long-term”. The two Iranian Kurdish sources have direct knowledge of the armed dissident groups and the ​source …

Trump officials consider arming Kurdish opposition against Iran’s regime

Trump officials consider arming Kurdish opposition against Iran’s regime

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials are in discussion with Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and northwestern Iran about potentially arming groups opposed to the Iranian regime, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions and an Iraqi Kurdish official. The discussions are taking place as Washington explores ways to increase pressure on Tehran following U.S. strikes on Iranian targets that began over the weekend. They are aimed at testing the possibility of the U.S. using Kurdish opposition groups to help topple the Iranian regime, which has so far held on despite the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday by Israel and the U.S., the people with knowledge of the discussions said. President Donald Trump called Kurdish leaders in Iraq on Sunday to discuss the matter, according to a U.S. official, just one day after the U.S. began its military campaign in Iran. Asked about Trump’s conversations with the Kurds and discussions by U.S. officials, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump has been in contact with many allies and partners in …

Kurdish autonomy: A shattered dream? – Reporters

Kurdish autonomy: A shattered dream? – Reporters

Published by Sam Flores

For the Kurdish people, history seems to repeat itself. Kurdish forces are an asset for the West when allies are needed in the region, but left aside when political choices need to be made. The agreement signed at the end of January between Damascus and the Syrian Kurds dealt a blow to the dream of a greater Kurdistan. Our team reports from Syria and Iraq. On January 30, after several weeks of fighting, Syrian Kurds and the Syrian central government signed a ceasefire deal. Both sides agreed to the progressive integration of the military forces and administration of Rojava – the Kurdish autonomous territory – into the Syrian state. It was a setback for Syrian Kurds, who signed to avoid a bloodbath. Today, what are the hopes of the Kurdish peoples, spread out between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran? Is the long-lasting dream of a greater Kurdistan still possible? FRANCE 24’s Pauline Godart, Amar Al-Hameedawi and Dida Faridoon report. Source link

Escaped Syrian detainees recount chaos after Kurdish forces withdraw

Escaped Syrian detainees recount chaos after Kurdish forces withdraw

Published by Sam Flores

Ahmed Hussein (a pseudonym), age 25, whose skull was injured during torture sessions in detention, was staying with relatives in Northeast Syria on January 24, 2026. PHILÉMON BARBIER/HORS FORMAT FOR LE MONDE Sitting in a circle in the garden of the Hussein family home (a pseudonym) in a village in Deir Ezzor province, neighbors and relatives gathered to see a man they thought was lost. After six years in Al-Kam Al-Sini prison, on the outskirts of Al-Shaddadah in Hassakeh province, Ahmed Hussein, 25, escaped on January 18. He took advantage of the chaos surrounding the withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from the prison, as government forces advanced with the support of an uprising by local Arab tribes. Hussein could hardly believe he survived the hellish ordeal that was Al-Kam Al-Sini prison. In a 2024 report, the human rights organization Amnesty International documented numerous instances of torture, abuse and disease in this prison, which was administered by the SDF in Northeast Syria. “There, all I thought about was death. I was convinced I …