KÚRDAR Í ÓVISSU MIÐ-AUSTURLNDA – SARAH GLYNN ANALYSES
Ég hef birt hér á síðunni allnokkra pistla Söruh Glynn, sem starfar að málefnum Kúrda í Strassborg, þar sem hún greinir stöðu Kúrda í Tyrklandi, Sýrlandi, Íran og Írak. Hún hefur einstakt lag á að koma mörgu til skila í fáum orðum, skrifar og les pistla sína sem eru örstuttir.
Á nokkrum mínútum fáum við skýra innsýn í flókna stöðu Kúrda í fyrrgreindum ríkjum.
Listen to Sarah Glynn reporting on the situation for the Kurds in Syria, Iran, Turkey and Iraq. Interesting and to be recommended, analytical and concise.
Use the following link for the written word and spoken:
https://newsfromkurdistan.wordpress.com/2026/07/17/kurds-at-the-centre-of-middle-east-uncertainty/
Kurds at the centre of Middle East uncertainty
Turkey
What could be a more appropriate gift for leaders of an organisation that is dragging us towards a third world war and is insisting that state investment is focused on militarisation? Delegates at the NATO summit in Ankara each received a going home present of a personalised vintage handgun as a reminder of the importance of Turkey’s arms industry. And no doubt, too, of Turkey’s strategic importance, which Recep Tayyip Erdoğan knows how to use to his advantage.
Erdoğan had a good summit. He strengthened his friendship with Donald Trump, who claimed that he only came because Erdoğan was the host, and Turkey could be on the way to securing the F-35 planes they have long wanted. At the same time, US ambivalence over NATO, and European determination to pursue the war in Ukraine, has increase European reliance on Turkey – NATO’s second largest military power with an expanding arms industry.
The European Parliament’s rapporteur for Turkey, Nacho Sánchez Amor, who was in Turkey to witness the trial of the deposed mayor of Istanbul and main challenger to Erdoğan’s presidency, Ekrem İmamoğlu, commented that “It is no coincidence that, while the NATO Summit is being held in Ankara today, the same person is forced to defend himself in three separate cases on the same day.” He observed that. “The court no longer appears to be preserving even the appearance of a fair trial,” and noted that the EU “must not keep its eyes only on Ankara.”
But while İmamoğlu’s trial was well covered by the foreign press, the fact that this travesty of justice could take place in parallel with the NATO summit only underlined Turkish impunity. As Human Rights Watch pointed out, “NATO membership is supposed to require adherence to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.”
Yet another mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was arrested and removed from office this week.
Meanwhile, Kurds are still waiting for the promised Legal Framework Law to enable the final dissolution and disarming of the PKK. Interpretations of the fundamental nature of the process are as far apart as ever, there have been no visits allowed to Abdullah Öcalan since 24 May, and leaked details of the proposed law are far from encouraging – but I will wait to comment on the actual law when it emerges. As Hişyar Özsoy, reminds readers of Firat News Agency, “ultimately, if you are making peace with a people, if you want to dismantle a military-political organization and ensure that these people never resort to arms again, never turn to violence again, then you must also create opportunities for these people to express themselves in civil and democratic politics.”
Syria
From Syria comes more news of the charade of the new parliament, of the privatised corruption of state assets, and of the difficulties facing displaced Kurdish families who want to return to their homes. Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was also granted a meeting with Trump in Ankara, underlining US support for his government.
The Syrian Parliament – deceptively named the “People’s Assembly” – has been formally convened now that al-Sharaa has nominated 70 members to join the 2/3 already “elected”: “elected” in quotation marks as the system is so restricted and controlled that these are also indirect presidential nominees. Only 10% of the total are women, and minorities – including Kurds – are significantly under-represented. It is claimed that half of the members hold Turkish citizenship as well as Syrian. Many Syrians have acquired Turkish citizenship, and these are over-represented in the government too.
The Democratic Union Party (PYD), which follows the ideas of Abdullah Öcalan and dominated the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, boycotted this undemocratic process, but the Syrian Kurdish National Council (EKNS), which has links to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is close to Turkey, used the opportunity to get their supporters into the Assembly.
Not that al-Sharaa’s rules give the Assembly much power. And, despite so much stacked in his favour, reports suggest that the president didn’t even allow the Assembly to choose its own leaders without interference.
Sima Beitinjaneh, writing for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, observes that “President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s transitional government shows patterns of governance that are all too reminiscent of the Assad regime’s rule.” She describes how “Syria’s transitional government has exhibited patterns of patrimonial governance through three mechanisms: family monopolisation of economic power, loyalty-based appointments over merit, and opaque financial dealings,” with the last involving “opaque settlements with Assad-era economic criminals.” And she further notes that Syrian people are continuing old patterns of engaging with power through cultivating connections.
As promised in the much-lauded statements of Syria’s Foreign Minister in Davos, soon after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over control in Damascus, the Transitional Government is following a neoliberal logic that regards state assets, including public services, as potential markets and opportunities for foreign investment. While ordinary Syrian’s suffer, a new oligarch class is reaping the benefits. Mazen Ezzi, in the Amargi, describes how the centralised state is paired with a “parastate” of trusted networks, as in HTS-run Idlib. This is financed by the Syrian Sovereign fund, with “vast land holdings, affiliated companies, and projects worth tens of billions of dollars, making it an opaque centre where state assets, former regime-linked wealth, investors, and presidential power converge.”
Further testimony of the ruthlessness of the powers that hold up this system has been provided by Eva Marie Michelsman, an independent journalist who was captured by Syrian forces when they took over Kurdish areas in January and was held in women’s prisons until June. She told a press conference in Germany that electric shocks and other torture were routine, and that many of the cells lacked windows or mattresses. Some of the women were imprisoned with their babies.
I have written before about the problems encountered by Kurdish families returning to Afrîn. For families attempting to return to Serêkaniyê – occupied by Turkish mercenary militias in 2019 – the situation is even bleaker, as there have as yet been no organised mass returns. As in Afrîn, other families who have taken over the homes refuse to leave, or demand large sums of money to vacate them, and homes have been stripped of all fittings. Continued control by Turkey’s militias makes security uncertain.
In a measure of how the tide has turned against the Kurds, the people of Kobanê are having to take to the streets to demand the official recognition of the Kurdish name of their city – a name that became synonymous with the historic Kurdish resistance against ISIS.
Iran
Beyond the renewal of hostilities between the United States and Iran, the Kurds of Iran have further worries. When the Iranian state is not defending itself from US attacks, it is focused on eliminating everyone it regards as the enemy within. This includes those associated with anti-government protests, and especially the Kurdish opposition groups and their armed fighters.
Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights claims that “during the first six months of 2026, at least 10,000 Kurdish citizens have been detained by security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran”
Kurds have taken no part America’s war, but they have not hidden their desire for the end of the Mullah regime, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) is taking no chances.
At the end of June and beginning of July – during the US-Iran ceasefire – a series of clashes resulted in deaths on both sides. On 25 June, IRGC drones targeted the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) – the party that follows Öcalan’s ideas in Iran. The attack caused damage to farmland but no casualties.
PJAK insists that their armed fighters do not take up an offensive position but that they maintain the right to legitimate self-defence. Commander Şiyar Şevger told Firat News Agency “we always say that we are not in favour of war; however, we will not leave any attack unanswered. We will defend ourselves where necessary.” PJAK warned that any further attacks would be met with a “firm response”.
The following evening, a checkpoint clash between PJAK and the IRGC resulted in the deaths of three members of the Iranian security forces. Fighting soon spread to new areas, and on 28 June, four PJAK guerrillas- two men and two women – were killed in an IRGC attack. In an illustration of the cross-border unity of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, two of those killed came from Turkey.
A few days later five peshmerga from the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (PDKI), and another party member were killed in an IRGC ambush.
Peyman Viyan, PJAK co-chair, insists that they are supporting neither side in the war; but she told Jin News, “Iran is preparing for an all-out war, both against external and internal forces… we, as a freedom movement, are in intense preparation… We are preparing ourselves to defend our people… As a movement, we have adopted a strategy based on how to protect our people and our forces. We are stating clearly that we will not engage in direct combat, but we will not remain silent in the face of attacks against us… We are in favour of resolving the issue through democratic means without war. But if a force threatens us, we are preparing ourselves for the biggest battle.”
Iran continues to target the Iranian-Kurdish opposition parties based in Iraq, too. On 2 July drone strikes hit bases belonging to the KDPI and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), and PAK has accused the Iranian security services of assassinating one of their members in Erbil.
Iran has also requested Interpol red notices for Kurdish opposition leaders in Iraq and various European countries, but there has been no confirmation from Interpol.
Iraq
In Iraq, the Kurdistan Region has now been unable to form a government for over two years, adding to the region’s vulnerability under the pressures of international politics. And the Yazidi homeland of Şengal, of Sinjar, has come under renewed threat.
With the drive to integrate armed groups into the Iraqi army, questions have been raised about the future of the autonomous Yazidi forces, the Şengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) and Şengal Women’s Units (YJŞ). These units are currently part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces, which have retained independence while under the army umbrella. The leader of the Popular Mobilisation Forces has stated that Şengal will come under the control of Iraqi forces within three months. It has not been made clear if it is intended to integrate the YBŞ and YJŞ into the army, or dispense with them altogether. Notably, as in earlier attempts to take control of Şengal, no one has consulted the Yazidis. With the continued ISIS threat, and the planned withdrawal of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition forces, Yazidis are especially fearful of losing the means to protect themselves.
In these uncertain times, Kurdish futures are especially uncertain.
Sarah Glynn
17 July 2026, Strasbourg
Á eftirfarandi slóð má komast inn á síðu með safni undangenginna greina.
Here you can approach earlier reports:
https://newsfromkurdistan.wordpress.com/
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