Sulaimani Governor’s three days of mourning for Afrin stirs mixed feelings

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Following the fall of the Syrian Kurdish city of Afrin on Sunday, Sulaimani Governor Haval Abubakr declared three days of mourning in the province which the Kurdish government rejected.

In a statement, Abubakr announced there would be a three-day mourning period in the province of Sulaimani in solidarity with Afrin.

“We have decided to observe a period of mourning starting today, March 18, 2018, until March 21, 2018, all over Sulaimani,” the statement read.

Turkish forces and its allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters captured the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northwestern Syria, nearly two months since the military operation began on Jan. 20.

“Newroz this year will be adapted to be a Newroz of Support, and we will refrain from celebrating and, instead, observe a Newroz of mourning in solidarity with the people of Afrin,” the Sulaimani Governor’s statement added.

In response to the announcement, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stated its objection to the move.

“On the Sulaimani Governor declaring three days of mourning for Afrin – although we express our sympathy and solidarity for the people of Afrin which have been suffering through war and displacement – we remind that from a legal and administrative standpoint, it is not within the purview of the Governor to declare a period mourning. It is only within the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers,” the KRG statement reads.

People took to social media to express their solidarity with Afrin, but many criticized the Sulaimani Governor’s statement for being ostensibly ‘political.’

“Afrin is one of the beloved Kurdish cities for which all Kurds should pay respect to for their resistance. The Governor of Sulaimani, however, should have also announced at least a day of mourning for the fall of Kirkuk last year, when Iraqi forces and [Iranian-backed] Shia militias attacked it and took over the city,” a Kurdish man posted on his Facebook account.

“Throughout history, the people of the Kurdistan Region had fought for Kirkuk, which is known as the heart and Jerusalem of Kurdistan.”

Editing by Nadia Riva