Iranian troops arrest Kurds, burn mountains

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iranian troops opened fire on several mountains in Kurdish populated areas in Iran, revenging the assassination of their officials, said a source in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat) on Thursday.

On July 10, Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh, representative of the town of Islamabad Gharb in the Province of Kermashan in Rojhelat was visiting the area with some other officials when his convoy was attacked by four gunmen.

As a result, the governor of Dalahou and the Director General of the fisheries of Kermashan were injured along the passengers of the vehicle while the driver and the head of the Veterinary Department of Dalahou were killed.

Following the attack, Iranian officials blamed the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), but the group denied it.

Instead the small group, Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), led by Hossein Yazandpanah claimed the responsibility.

On Thursday, a source in Kermashan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Kurdistan24 that after the attack, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) burnt down the mountains of Dalahou , Salasi Bawajani and Kwekha Eliyas. “IRGC claims that the Sunday attackers are located there,” said the source.

Environmental activists have repeatedly called on Iran to avoid setting fire on mountains as they cause irreparable damages to the eco-system.

Locals also report that IRGC and Iranian intelligence have started arbitrary arrests in the area.

“Whoever enters the villages of Kwekha Eliyas Ahmed area and does not carry an identification card is arrested. So far, they have captured many Kurds,” the source added.

He emphasized that Kurds feel insecure, claiming that IRGC wants to take revenge from civilians following the attack.

Moreover, Parwez Rahim Qader, who is originally from Rojhelat, and he is a university lecturer at the Department of Law and Political Sciences in the Kurdistan Region, told Kurdistan24 that Iranian government has a long history of violence against civilians in general and the Rojhelat Kurds in particular.

He believes the nuclear deal with the West has not brought any positive changes in the life of people and they are dissatisfied, Qader said.

“Iran has many risks on its internal security and at the same time, the government knows that if the pressures on people continue, the result might be again too risky, especially in Rojhelat because people would be more inclined to support Kurdish Peshmerga fighters against Tehran,” he added.

Qader noted that burning mountains and arbitrarily arresting is intimidating people into giving up their support for Peshmerga but this old strategy has often backfired.

Editing by Ava Homa