Iran and Turkey Coordinate Attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan // FAI ONLINE

Smoke rises after Iranian artillery shells hit areas along the Kurdistan Region's border with Iran (via Kurdistan24.net)

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) joined Turkey in their cross-border campaign against Kurdish militias in Iraqi Kurdistan this week, striking the positions of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) with warplanes and artillery near the town of Choman in Erbil Province on Tuesday and Wednesday. So far, no casualties have been reported as a result, although substantial damage to the properties of civilian Kurdish farmers has been reported. The PDKI is a Kurdish political and revolutionary movement inside Iran which advocates and fights for the autonomy of Kurdish majority provinces. Like the Turkey-based PKK, the PDKI has bases inside Iraqi Kurdistan.

The IRGC attacks come amidst the Turkish government’s announcement of the next phase of its ongoing “Operation: Tiger-Claw” with the deployment of Turkish special forces units into Iraqi Kurdistan to attack PKK positions. The announcement was preceded by a two-day barrage of airstrikes and artillery fire. The Arab League and EU have roundly condemned Turkey and Iran’s actions in Kurdistan this week, although no action has been taken by the UN Security Council as of yet.

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Meanwhile, in the Kurdish-majority city of Afrin in Syria, evidence surfaced regarding the illegal detention of 11 Kurdish women in a facility run by jihadist militias allied with Turkey. The facility was overrun by a rival militia, after which the female detainees were transferred, but not released. Video taken during the raid showed the women bound and naked, having suffered physical and sexual assault. The women include sisters, ages 19 and 25, who were arrested along with their father. They are accused of ties to “terrorism”, a common pretext for detention in Turkey and Turkish-occupied areas of Syria, including Afrin. Kurdish detainees are often held indefinitely with no trial or evidence produced against them.

We ask our global family to continue with us in prayer for the Kurdish people. In every part of Greater Kurdistan across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, the Kurdish people continue to suffer horrible injustice. We pray for the restraint of demonically-inspired regimes and for open doors to reach the Kurdish people throughout the Middle East with relief, hope, and Good News.

Maranatha.