Kurdistan Watch

A revealing dispute has emerged between the KRG and Dana Gas over gas supplies from Khor Mor to Iraq. The KRG accused Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum of starting supplies to the Taza power plant in Kirkuk without its approval, saying it was informed only when the deal was publicly announced. Dana Gas responded that the KRG had known about the agreement since January, had received a copy, and that the Ministry of Nat…

Really notable: Erbil police said preliminary findings indicate that the shooting of Mukri, son of PAK leader Hussein Yazdanpana, was not “an act of terrorism”, clearly implying that it was not an Iranian assassination attempt, as the group had claimed. Other sources say the shooting occurred at around 1:30 a.m., further fuelling speculation about the circumstances.

Quite a remarkable example of how media can completely flip the narrative. A drone video showing a very long queue at one of Duhok’s subsidised petrol stations was proudly published by Ava Media, owned by KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s son, Areen. Rather than presenting it as evidence of fuel shortages and soaring prices, the caption celebrates the scene, saying that hundreds of cars are waiting because the fu…

Mukri Yazdanpana, the only son of Iranian Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) leader Hussein Yazdanpana, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in Erbil. He remains hospitalised in what is described as an unstable condition. The family has lived in Erbil for decades. Mukri is reportedly a PAK fighter and fought alongside his father against ISIS.

Petrol prices have jumped again in Erbil and Duhok. Super grade has broken through the 2,000-dinar mark ($1.32), with most stations selling between 2,050 and 2,250 dinars ($1.35–$1.48) per litre. Improved (muhassan) grade is selling for 1,850 dinars ($1.22), regular unsubsidised petrol for 1,400 to 1,450 dinars ($0.92–$0.95), and diesel has surged to 1,550 dinars ($1.02) from around 450 ($0.30) just two months ago. …

Mojtaba Jafari, an adviser to the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army, claims Iranian Army NOHED airborne special forces carried out 14 ground operations against armed Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Erbil and Suleimani. Iranian news website Entekhab quoted Jafari in a report on the army’s activities during Iran’s confrontation with the United States and Israel. Jafari said the commandos targeted opposition…

Such issues are often more nuanced, but it is interesting to see things from the other side. A Muslim (especially Sunni) Kurd would likely never have thought about Prince Muhammad of Rawanduz through such a lens, but it is notable that Yazidis see it this way and equate it to how Kurds see Saddam. It comes down to how historical figures are perceived. There is a similar dynamic with Saladin, whom Shias (and by exte…

Nechirvan Barzani did not meet SDF commander Mazloum Abdi in Damascus and has now returned to Erbil. A notable pattern is emerging. During French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit, despite widespread speculation, Abdi also did not meet Macron or foreign officials in Damascus. The same has now occurred during Barzani’s visit. The apparent aim is to establish an early precedent under Ahmed al-Sharaa: Damascus is the s…

Yazidi activist and Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity laureate Mirza Dinnayi raises a notable issue on the anniversary of the ISIS onslaught against Sinjar. In a video filmed in Rawanduz, Dinnayi stands beside the statue of Mir Muhammad Pasha, the nineteenth-century ruler of the Soran Emirate, and asks why a figure associated with one of the bloodiest campaigns against the Yazidis is still celebrated as a Kurdish …

KDP leader Masoud Barzani has received Ali Bapir, the head of the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), marking their first meeting in years after relations broke down and Komal became one of the KRG's most outspoken critics. The meeting reflects two broader political trends: First, the KDP appears to be pursuing a wider effort to repair relations with political rivals across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region after a period…

Twelve years after the Sinjar onslaught, the fate of 2,553 Yazidis remains unknown, according to figures from the Kurdistan Region Office for Rescuing Abducted Yazidis. Today, 3 August, marks the anniversary of the genocide. In 2014, ISIS overran Sinjar district and its surrounding Yazidi communities, killing thousands of civilians and abducting more than 6,000 others. According to the Office, Iraq's Yazidi populat…

These strained relations deteriorated further in the final hours before the fall, when the leaders refused to heed the KDP and chose to remain in their homes. Some who were on poor terms with the party left Mount Sinjar and returned to the city. Hours before ISIS reached Sinjar, Yazidi leaders in southern villages such as Kojo told KDP officials they regarded ISIS as Baathists. "We prefer the Baathists to you becaus…