Interview Barzani calls for enhanced air defense for Kurdistan Region to counter drone attacks Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani backs US-led regional economic integration efforts and lauds US partnership in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor. Masrour Barzani KRG Prime Minister
Explainer Why Iran targeted Barzani family stronghold in Iraqi Kurdistan Iran’s Kurdish opposition groups have turned Iraqi Kurdistan into a frontline in the war. Iran
Analysis How Turkey's PKK amnesty law entwines Kurds' hopes with Erdogan's ambitions The first legislation to emerge from direct negotiations with Abdullah Ocalan offers a path to ending Turkey's war with the PKK while potentially giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the votes he needs to remain in power for a third term. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Iraqi Kurdish president’s meeting with Syria’s Sharaa signals shift in SDF dynamics KRG President Nechirvan Barzani’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa underscored the Kurdistan Region’s growing role in Syria’s Kurdish politics. Iraq
Interview PJAK leader mocks Iran’s claim Turkey spiked US Kurdish-backed regime-change plan Siamand Moeini PJAK Executive Council Member
Analysis Why Iran's Kurdish front is becoming a growing wartime concern By A correspondent in Tehran In Tehran, reporting on politics
Erbil court convicts journalists, activists of spying, organizing armed groups Five defendants, including journalists and activists, were sentenced to prison in Erbil in a decision that international rights groups say is an attack on press freedoms. Iraq
Militia attacks on US forces in Erbil challenges Iraqi government A rocket attack on a US base in northern Iraq is putting pressure on the Iraqi government and challenging the Biden administration's policy in Iraq. Iraq
57 nations hit for failure to repatriate women, children from Syrian camps UN human rights experts are pressing Great Britain, France, Iran, Russia, Turkey, the United States and 51 other countries to repatriate nearly 10,000 of their citizens associated with the Islamic State. Syria
Intel: US unsatisfied with Turkey's response to Syria rights abuses The US government continues to raise reports of human rights abuses in Syria with Turkey, according to a new watchdog report. Originals
Syrian government, SDF trade accusations of violations of Russian-mediated cease-fire No sooner had an agreement been reached between the Syrian regime and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to lift the mutual sieges imposed in northeast Syria that accusations were traded about violations of the Russian-sponsored deal. Syria
Syrian Kurds hoping for lifeline from Biden administration Damascus, Ankara and Moscow turn up the heat on US-backed group; UN Syria envoy says, "We can’t continue like this." Syria
Will Turkish defense minister’s Iraq visit yield concrete results? Although Turkey's defense minister seems to be satisfied with the outcome of his recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil, there are several impediments to Turkey's security demands. Iraq
Syria’s Kurdish-led administration calls on Biden for political recognition SDF commander Mazlum Kobane told Al-Monitor last month he hopes the Biden administration will double the US troop presence in northeast Syria. Syria
Arabs in Syrian Kurdish-controlled region on edge following assassinations Al-Monitor conducted a rare reporting trip to Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor region to discuss the situation with the chief of the part of the Arab-majority governorate under Kurdish-led SDF control in the oil-rich and insurgent-prone area. Syria
Europe human rights court calls on Turkey to release Demirtas Europe’s top human rights court ruled Wednesday for the "immediate release" of Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who has been imprisoned for more than four years in Turkey on terror-related charges. Turkey
KRG asks US forces to deploy along Kurdish-controlled part of Iraqi-Syrian border In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s deputy chief of staff outlined why the Kurdish region's government wants US forces stationed in and around the Fish Khabur border crossing. Iraq
One reported dead in fight between Kurdish groups in Iraq A peshmerga soldier in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq reportedly died during a fight with the PKK on Sunday amid tensions between the two groups as well as with Turkey. Iraq
