These claims were quickly refuted by Iran’s Kurdish opposition parties. “We did not receive any weapons during the time of the demonstrations in Iran,” Hejar Berenji, stateside representative of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) told Fox News.

Siamand Moeini, a senior leader in the armed Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), similarly denied the report. “We as PJAK, as I know, have not received anything. As for others, I cannot answer,” he told Middle East Eye.

Hana Yazdanpanah, foreign representative for the Iraq-based Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which has a wide following in Iran, told Middle East Eye that their fighters only have their “old Kalashnikov[s] that we fought ISIS with for five years and the weapons they abandoned after its defeat.” She added: “We have received no single weapon from the US at this time.”

Mohammed Nazif Qaderi, a senior official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), told the Kurdish news agency Rudaw: “Those statements made are baseless and we haven’t received any weapons. The weapons we have are from 47 years ago, and we obtained them on the Islamic Republic’s battlefield, and we bought some from the market.”

Immediately after the US and Israel launched their air campaign against Iran in late February, Tehran embarked on a barrage of missile and drone attacks against Kurdish targets in northern Iraq. Iranian drone strikes targeted KDPI camps in the Koya district, along with a KDPI headquarters in Erbil province. (AW)

Image: Middle East Forum via Wikimedia Commons

Image: Pixabay

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered an investigation into the killing. International human rights organizations are urging authorities to identify the perpetrators and halt a continuing pattern of targeted attacks on activists in the country.

Mohammed was the co-founder and director of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI). She was widely recognized for her work supporting women facing gender-based violence, which included establishing a network of safe houses across several Iraqi cities.

The assassination comes amid a deteriorating environment for women’s rights in Iraq. In February 2025, despite widespread opposition, the Iraqi government implemented amendments to the Personal Status Law. The revisions eliminated the legal marriage age of 18 and removed key protections regarding divorce and inheritance.

International rights groups heavily criticized the legislation prior to its enactment. Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the revisions for lowering the minimum age of marriage below international legal standards.

Razaw Salihy, Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher, also stated regarding the law: “Not only does child marriage deprive girls of their education, but married girls are more vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse, and health risks related to early pregnancy.”

Following Mohammed’s death, rights groups srtessed the government’s failure to protect activists. HRW stated that the assassination was entirely preventable, and aligns with a pattern of high-profile killings of human rights defenders in Iraq over the past decade.

Addressing the broader issue, Amnesty International stated: “The persistent failure of the Iraqi authorities to hold perpetrators accountable for past assassinations has entrenched a climate of impunity that continues to place activists at grave and fatal risk.”

From JURIST, March 14. Used with permission.

Note: Yanar Mohammed had long been an outspoken opponent of retrogressive changes to Iraq’s Personal Status Law.

See our 2004 interview with Yanar Mohammed.

Photo via Facebook

Hundreds of Danish veterans and supporters staged a silent march on Jan. 31 from the historic Kastellet fortress to the US Embassy in Copenhagen as part of a “No Words” mobilization to protest recent US rhetoric that organizers said demeans Denmark’s combat contributions alongside American forces.

Organizers also linked the march to the status of Greenland, upholding the right of self-determination for the Danish island territory. Recent demands by President Donald Trump for US annexation of Greenland, and comments seeming to question the courage of Danish soldiers, have stirred a sense of betrayal for many in Denmark, particularly those who fought alongside US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The march gathered at the Monumentet for Danmarks Faldne (Monument to Denmark’s Fallen) inside Kastellet, began with one minute of silence before departure, and concluded with five minutes of silence at the embassy. Organizers advised attendees to wear their service medals and stated that flags and banners were welcome.

In published remarks, organizers stated that 52 Danish flags bearing the names of Danes killed in US-led post-9-11 operations would be planted in front of the embassy following the march. Participants then faced the embassy in silence to honor the fallen.

In an English-language address prepared for delivery outside the embassy, organizers recalled how Denmark “immediately” joined the international response after the invocation of NATO Article 5 following the World Trade Center attacks. Over 27,000 Danish soldiers served in US- and NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, with over 200 wounded and 52 killed. Denmark’s Armed Forces separately noted that 44 Danish soldiers died in Afghanistan while serving in NATO-led missions.

Greenland is governed under Denmark’s 2009 Act on Greenland Self-Government, which recognizes Greenland native inhabitants as a “people” under international law, with a right to self-determination, and sets out procedures for any future change in status. The march invoked core international law constraints, including the UN Charter prohibition on threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of states, and the centrality of self-determination to the international system.

In a Jan. 14 statement, UN experts urged the US to respect international law and Greenland’s right to self-determination, warning that rhetoric suggesting plans to “take” or control the territory undermines the UN Charter and international order. Protesters similarly accused the US of failing to respect alliances and the rule of law, emphasizing Denmark’s sacrifices in post-9-11 coalition missions and Greenlanders’ right to determine their political future.

Denmark and Greenland leaders have adamantly rejected US designs on the territory following the US appointment of a special envoy to Greenland in December. Last month, President Trump threatened tariffs on EU and Nordic countries that do not support his efforts to annex Greenland, but has since walked back his threat.

From JURIST, Feb. 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.

“These personnel will assist in surveillance and coordination with US forces at the al-Tanf base in Syria to ensure that IS does not exploit the security vacuum,” al-Sudani said, according to Kurdistan24. Al-Tanf, in southeastern Syria, is the main US outpost in that country.

The announcement that US troops will remain at Ain al-Asad represents a reversal of plans for a full withdrawal initially slated to be completed by last month. US Central Command only acknowledged that the withdrawal was underway in late September, pointing to a change in plans.

The decision to allow the US troops to stay was made in response to “developments in Syria,” al-Sudani said. This presumably refers to the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, after the draw-down agreement between the US and Iraq was reached. The initial plan, reached last fall, would have brought the number of US troops inside Iraq from 2,500 to fewer than 2,000, with most based in the Kurdistan region. (Task & Purpose)

Photo: Spc. Timothy VanDusen/US Army via Task & Purpose

Map: UNHCR via ReliefWeb

The 12th Congress was held in the Medya Defense Zones, a PKK-controlled area of the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq. Turkey continued to carry our air-strikes on the Medya Defense Zones right up to the very eve of the congress, and even in the days after it concluded. Turkey has also continued its campaign of air-strikes on the Rojava region of northern Syria, where PKK-aligned Kurdish forces have established an autonomous zone. (ANF, ANF, ANF, ANHA, Abolition Media)

Image of PKK flag: Wikipedia

Two days before the raid on Sanaa, a US air-strike in Iraq’s Anbar province was reported to have killed Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, a senior ISIS leader. The Pentagon’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that Rifai, also known as Abu Khadijah, was killed alongside another ISIS member in the strike. CENTCOM described Rifai as the “Chief of Global Operations for ISIS and the Delegated Committee Emir,” making him second in command of the Islamic State. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani issued a statement saying Rifai was “considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world.” (LWJ)

Photo: CENTCOM

The ISIS attack on the Yazidi heartland of Shingal in August 2014 resulted in an estimated 5,000 deaths and the abduction of 6,417 women and children, who were forced into sexual slavery and labor. The United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) has classified the attack as clear evidence of genocidal intent.

Switzerland joins several other countries and bodies, including the European Parliament and a United Nations Commission of Inquiry, in recognizing the ISIS crimes against Yazidis as genocide. The National Assembly of Armenia, the Australian parliament, the Canadian parliament, the United States House of Representatives and the United Kingdom are all considering motions on the Yazidi genocide.

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has launched an initiatives to reunite abducted Yazidis with their families. The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi federal government pledged to work together to return displaced Yazidis to their homes in Shingal (also rendered Sinjar) under the 2020 Sinjar Agreement.

On Dec. 11, a Dutch court convicted an ISIS follower, Hasna A. for crimes against a Yazidi woman. Hasna A. was charged with slavery, membership in a terrorist organization, promoting terrorist crimes, and endangering her minor son. A week later she was sentencedto 10 years in prison. There have been similar convictions in Germany.

The Yazidi genocide
The Yazidis are a religious minority, who primarily live in the Shingal area of Iraq. In the summer of 2014, the region was invaded by ISIS, who proceeded to separate and round up Yazid men and boys, executing the men and older boys who refused to convert to Islam. Since Shingal was liberated by Kurdish forces in November 2015, a total of 81 mass graves have been found in the area.

More than 6,000 women and children were taken captive by ISIS and forced into sex slavery. According to Nadia’s Initiative: “Sexual violence was strategically used as a weapon of war and codified in ISIS manuals that explained how to traffic Yazidi women. ISIS believed that violating women would destroy the community from within.” Nearly 2,800 women and children are still missing.

Pursuit of justice
Iraq passed the Yazidi Survivors Law in March 2021, which established a program to ensure survivors’ right to reparations. However, human rights organizations have asserted that the program is not being implemented seriously. Human Rights Watch has said that “several survivors have reported harassment and stigmatization while filing criminal complaints with the judiciary.” To date, no ISIS members have been tried by the Iraqi courts for their role in the sexual violence or genocide. The International Criminal Court faces jurisdictional constraints, meaning that Yazidi people have been seeking redress in national courts through the principle of universal jurisdiction.

From JURIST, JURIST, Dec. 19. Used with permission.

Photo: Istanbul march commemorating second anniversary of Yazidi Genocide, August 2016. Credit: VOA via Wikimedia Commons

Image: Pixabay