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Iranians shell anti-Iranian Kurdish PEJAK
guerrillas in Kurdistan region-Iraq
23.5.2007
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May
23, 2007
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan region (Iraq), May
23, -- Iranian forces have launched an operation
against the anti-Iranian Kurdish Party of Free Life
in Kurdistan (PEJAK) in Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
Iranian forces bombarded Kurdistan's (northern Iraq)
rugged Qandil mountains with mortars on Wednesday,
targeting PJAK Kurdish guerrillas, a local official
said.
The barrage lasted much of the day and targeted
several villages, said Hussein Ahmed, the mayor of
Bashdar, one of the targeted villages.
"I expect there will be both human and material
losses, but I don't know right now the extent of the
damage," he told reporters.
The Iranian army entered Kurdistan (northern Iraq)
and was shelling the Hajiumran area, reported by
PUKmedia news site.
PEJAK, took up arms for self-rule in the country's
mainly Kurdistan province northwestern of Iran. Half
the members of PEJAK are women, many of them still
in their teens.
The snow-capped Qandil mountains run along Iraq's
Kurdistan border with both Turkey and Iran and are
home to separatist guerrillas from the anti-Iranian
faction PEJAK, an offshoot of Kurdish Workers' Party
(PKK), which opposes Turkey.
The movements have fought for decades for the
autonomy of the Kurdish people, though recently they
claim to have abandoned violence in favour of a
peaceful solution.
Turkey has threatened to invade the northern Iraqi
PKK haven if their activities are not reigned in by
the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, while Iran
frequently shells the area. |
PEJAK Kurdish woman fighter, (PEJAK - Party for a
Free Life in Kurdistan), PEJAK fights against the
Iran regime for self-rule in the country's
mainly Kurdistan province northwestern of Iran AP |
Authorities in the Kurdistan region (northern Iraq)
deny the presence of PEJAK operations in the area
and said they were unable to establish contact with
the region.
AFP | Agencies
Iranian Kurdistan
**
Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Îranę or
Kurdistana Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) or Rojhilatę
Kurdistan (East of Kurdistan)) is an unofficial name
for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has
borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes the
greater parts of West Azerbaijan province, Kurdistan
Province, Kermanshah Province, and Ilam Province.
Kurds form the majority of the population of this
region with an estimated population of 4 million.
The region is the eastern part of the greater
cultural-geographical area called Kurdistan.
More about Iranian Kurdistan
The present leader of the organisation is Haji
Ahmadi. According to the Washington Times, half the
members of PEJAK are women, many of them still in
their teens, and one of the female members of the
leadership council is Gulistan Dugan, a psychology
graduate from the University of Tehran. This is due
primarily to the fact that PJAK is strongly
supportive of women's rights. PJAK believes that
women must have a strong role in government and must
be on an equal level with men in leadership
positions.
More about PEJAK- Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan"
Southeast Turkey. The Kurds have no rights in
Turkey.
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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