KDP forces detain peshmerga commander

Two young men abducted to Turkey from South Kurdistan have been released after protests. Once back in South Kurdistan, they were arrested by the KDP. They have been missing for a week.

It was reported that a peshmerga commander was detained in South Kurdistan for criticizing the Zerevan forces affiliated with the Barzani family. His fate is unknown.

Zerevan was established as a separate force from the peshmerga forces and affiliated to the Barzani family. The arbitrary practices of these forces have also increased because of the complete impunity they have enjoyed. In particular, intimidation, threats and detentions have escalated recently.

In the last incident, it was reported that a peshmerga commander named Muhamed Arif Silêman Gulî was detained on the grounds that he criticized the Zerevan forces.

Human rights activist Ayhan Seid said that the peshmerga commander went to the center of Zerevan forces on Tuesday, 11 December, and was never seen again.

Seid demanded the Kurdistan Parliament’s Internal Affairs Committee, the Peshmerga Ministry and the United Nations to investigate the incident and added: “Muhemed Arif Silêman went to the headquarters of the Zerevan forces in Hewler on 11 December and since then, his phone has been off and there has been no news about him.”

Kavin Mihemed, son of the peshmerga commander, said: “After criticizing the Zerevan forces, we lost traces of my father.”

There is still no news about the two young people who were handed over to the KDP after the Turkish state kidnapped them.

The Turkish state kidnapped two young people in the Dayla village in Sidekan in the Bradost region of Hewler on 30 December 2021.

The young people, named Ekrem Xelîl Zikrî and Zêdan Nebî Mistefa, were handed over to the KDP six days after they were taken to Turkey. Once back in South Kurdistan, however, the two young people were detained rather than handed over to their families. There has been no news from either of them for over a week.