ShafaqNews- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Al-SulaymaniyahCriminal Court on Thursday adjourned the trial of People's Front Party (PFP)leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi, his brother Bolad, and 10 others in connection withthe 2025 Lalezar case, a source told Shafaq News.

Thehearing began at 9:00 a.m., with Sheikh Jangi and the other defendants facingcharges under Articles 56 and 406 of the Iraqi Penal Code.

Thecourt later adjourned the proceedings until further notice.

Thecase stems from Aug. 22, 2025, when armed clashes erupted near the LalezarHotel in Al-Sulaymaniyah between forces affiliated with the Patriotic Union ofKurdistan (PUK) and fighters loyal to Sheikh Jangi. The clashes resulted incasualties on both sides and were followed by the arrest of Sheikh Jangi anddozens of his supporters.

Read more: Arresting Lahur Jangi in Al-Sulaymaniyah: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdistan Region’s HealthMinistry ordered the closure of a private hospital in Erbil on Wednesday aftera 21-year-old patient died following emergency surgery allegedly performed inbreach of health regulations.

An inspection found that thesurgeon was neither licensed to work at the hospital nor listed among itsministry-approved medical staff. The procedure was also carried out despite thefacility lacking an emergency department and intensive care unit.

Operating rooms at thehospital had been shut in early June over patient safety concerns, but thesurgeon, anesthesiologist, and administration allegedly continued using themthrough unauthorized entrances, according to the ministry.

It linked the patient’s deathto breaches of that order, prompting the entire facility to be closed and itsadministration and other accused individuals referred to court. The ministryfurther directed private healthcare providers to maintain valid licenses andemploy only officially authorized medical personnel.

A health-sector reportpublished by the Aran Organization for the Development of Civic Culture (AOCC)in June found that 79 private hospitals perform around 102,000 surgeriesannually, exceeding the number conducted in the public sector. In a separatesurvey of 1,600 private-sector health workers in July, ARAN documented nursesworking without formal contracts, outside their specialties, and withoutadequate workplace protections.

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) completedarrangements to bring home 33 Kurdistan Region residents from Libya next week,the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry and the Department of Foreign Relations weretasked with locating, rescuing, and returning the group after reports emergedthat they had gone missing in Libya. According to the ministry, the groupendured difficult conditions in Libya, with some spending eight months inprison and repeatedly facing threats to their lives.

The KRG urged young people and their families to avoidirregular migration routes to Western countries, warning that such journeys puttheir lives at risk and could expose them to legal consequences for violatingother countries’ laws.

The ministry said the KRG has so far rescued and returned302 irregular migrants to the Kurdistan Region.

International Organization for Migration data show that morethan 221,000 people have been affected by human trafficking, with Iraq servingas both a source and destination country.

In the first quarter of 2026, Iraq’s Interior Ministrydismantled 36 organized crime networks involved in human trafficking, migrantsmuggling and organ trafficking.

Read more: 2.3K lives lost: Iraq's grim toll of human trafficking

Shafaq News- Erbil

A court in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for several people, including activists and media figures, accused of insulting God, Islam, and religious symbols, according to a representative of the complainants.

At a press conference, Mohammed Sabah Al-Khayat, representing civil activists and clerics involved in the case, said lawyers and civil-society activists had pursued the complaints, after which security authorities and Interior Ministry officials were instructed to detain those named in the warrants at checkpoints, border crossings, airports, or known residential addresses before referring them to the judiciary.

Al-Khayat described the complaints as concerning what he called the use of ‘freedom of expression’ to insult religious sanctities, arguing that prosecution was necessary to protect civil peace.

Read more: Iraqi Kurdistan’s pluralism: A living model of coexistence

In July, an Erbil court also issued arrest warrants for four people accused of insulting Islam, and security forces detained two of them.

Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Syria’s government has allowed Kurdish to be taught but hasyet to recognize it officially or include it in the constitution, Gharib Hasso,co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said on Wednesday.

Hasso told Shafaq News that the Syrian Education Ministry’sdecision allowing three hours of Kurdish-language instruction per week was“insufficient,” particularly because the classes are optional.

Hasso argued that the country should recognize allcommunities following the fall of the Baathist government. “Limiting Kurdishinstruction could eventually lead Kurdish students to rely solely on Arabic fortheir education and writing, which could contribute to the language’s decline.”

“Our demand is for Kurdish to become an official languagealongside Arabic,” he said, adding that other communities should also have theopportunity to learn it.

Hasso described the Education Ministry’s decision as“political” and called for a comprehensive approach to Kurdish-languageeducation to prevent future disputes. He also accused the Damascus governmentof seeking to gradually restrict Kurdish instruction and potentially eliminatethe limited teaching hours.

He further accused Turkiye of obstructing officialrecognition of Kurdish in Syria and called on Ankara to support its inclusionas an official language in the country’s new constitution.

Addressing the Kurdish presence, Hasso said Kurds have alongstanding presence in Syria, adding that part of Kurdistan lies withinSyrian territory and that hundreds of thousands of Kurds also live in citieselsewhere in the country.

Read more: Kurds in Syria: From marginalization to a defining political force

Shafaq News- Erbil

Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) authorities on Wednesday destroyed 577 kilograms of Captagon in Erbil after obtaining court approval, KRI Anti-Narcotics Directorate media official Arkan Omar said at a press conference.

In May, Kurdistan Region authorities also dismantled an international trafficking network and seized more than one million Captagon pills and 100 kilograms of hashish. According to the Directorate, 1,708 people were arrested in Erbil and Duhok during 2025 drug operations that seized 922.963 kilograms of narcotics, while joint operations with federal and Al-Sulaymaniyah authorities yielded another 1,575 kilograms of crystal meth and Captagon pills.

Read more: Iraqi Kurdistan arrests 1,700+, seizes over 2.4 tons in anti-drug operations

Shafaq News- Erbil

Iran launched a series of drone strikes on bases, positions and campsbelonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Karim Parweizi, asenior party figure, told Shafaq News on Wednesday.

The strikes took place between 2:00 a.m. and 2:42 a.m., hitting thegroup's positions from two directions. Three drones entered the KDPI's camp andheadquarters in Balissan, while drones targeting the Jezhnikan camp wereintercepted and detonated in the air before reaching their targets.

The strikes caused no casualties, according to Parweizi. He also notedthat Iranian missile and drone attacks on camps housing party members'families, as well as its health and education centers, had surpassed 156 sincethe start of the US-Iran war on February 28.

Earlier today, the Kurdistan Region's Counter-Terrorism agency(Kurdistan CT) reported that Global Coalition forces had shot down 10explosive-laden drones over Erbil and its outskirts.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibilityfor combined missile and drone strikes on US bases in Erbil. The IRGC reportedthat the attacks destroyed a maintenance facility and technical equipmentstorage sites and disabled the control system for a US surveillance balloon. Italso maintained that fuel tanks caught fire at one base and that an unspecifiednumber of US personnel were killed.

Shafaq News-Erbil

GlobalCoalition forces shot down 10 explosive-laden drones between 1:13a.m. and 3:31 a.m. over Erbil and its outskirts, the Kurdistan Region’sCounter-Terrorism agency (Kurdistan CT) said.

Nocasualties were reported.

A securitysource told Shafaq News earlier today that a warplane intercepted at least twodrones over Erbil.

At dawn, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had carriedout combined missile and drone strikes on US bases in Erbil. The IRGC claimedthe strikes destroyed a maintenance facility and technical equipment storagesites and knocked out the control system for a US surveillance balloon. It alsosaid fuel tanks were set ablaze at one base and an unspecified number of USpersonnel were killed.

The USEmbassy in Baghdad and its Consulate General in Erbil urged Americans in theMiddle East to exercise heightened caution and to prepare for possible flightcancellations, border or airspace closures, and wider travel disruption.

Shafaq News- Erbil

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday it hadcarried out combined missile and drone strikes on US bases in Erbil, thecapital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

In its sixth communiqué since the latest exchange of fire with theUnited States, the IRGC said its forces had destroyed a maintenance facilityand technical equipment storage sites and knocked out the control system for aUS surveillance balloon. It also claimed the strikes had set fuel tanks ablazeat one base and killed an unspecified number of US personnel.

Kurdistan Region authorities and US forces have not confirmed that anystrikes occurred in Erbil or reported damage or casualties.

The IRGC described the operation as retaliation for US attacks that itsaid had killed Iranian civilians, including an overnight strike on a weddingcelebration for a young Sunni couple in Sirik, southern Iran. According to theGuard, four people, including a child, were killed, and around 70 casualties werereported overall.

Read more: Warplane intercepts two drones over Erbil

🔺 In response to this crime, the IRGC Ground Force, with attacks on US bases in Jordan, Bahrain, and Erbil, launched a combined missile and drone attack on the command post and accommodation of the US commander at Ali Al-Salem Air Base, killing several enemy personnel.

— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) September 2, 2026

Shafaq News- Erbil (Updated at 9:37)

A warplane intercepted at least two drones over Erbil, the capital ofthe Kurdistan Region of Iraq, on Wednesday at around 2:30 a.m., according to asecurity source.

The source did not provide further details.

The incident comes amid a renewed exchange of strikesbetween the United States and Iran, with military sites and bases hosting USforces targeted across the region.

Shafaq News- Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, MasrourBarzani, and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday condemned therecent attacks on the UAE.

During talks in Abu Dhabi, both sides discussed political and securitydevelopments in the Middle East and opportunities to strengthen cooperationbetween Erbil and Abu Dhabi.

UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Dubai Ruler Mohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum attended the meeting.

Barzani arrived in Abu Dhabi earlier on Tuesdayfor an official visit.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani Meets President of the UAEPrime Minister @masrourbarzani met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The meeting was also attended by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al… pic.twitter.com/gX0XeM0uQN

— Kurdistan Regional Government (@Kurdistan) September 1, 2026

Shafaq News- Erbil

The US consulate in Erbil warned American citizens acrossthe Middle East on Tuesday of a possible sudden escalation in regional tensions.

The consulate urged Americans in the region to prepare forpossible flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures, and broader traveldisruptions.

Read more: US consulate in Erbil warns of possible security escalation

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Rwanga Foundation, in cooperation with Italiandevelopment organization ICU, completed a 45-day vocational training program inthe Zakho Independent Administration and awarded certificates to participantson Tuesday.

The program provided direct employment opportunities for 40graduates, most of them from the Christian community.

The Italian government sponsored the project, with financialsupport from the Catholic Church in Zakho, to develop young people’s skills andhelp them secure sustainable employment.

دەزگای روانگە دەرفەتی دامەزراندنی بۆ 40 بەشداربووی دەرچووی راهێنانی پیشەیی لە زاخۆ رەخساند.لە چوارچێوەی بەهێزکردنی تواناکانی لاوان و باشترکردنی دەرفەتە کۆمەڵایەتی، ئابووری ، پەروەردەییەکان، دەزگای روانگە بە هاوبەشی لەگەڵ رێکخراوی ICU، بەرنامەیەکی 45 رۆژەی راهێنانی پیشەیی لە… pic.twitter.com/bkEwijMyqe

— Rwanga Foundation (@RwangaFdn) September 1, 2026

Rwanga, meaning “vision,” is a non-governmental organizationfounded in 2013 by Idris Nechirvan Barzani. Headquartered in Erbil, it worksacross Iraq in four main sectors -education, youth, environment and vulnerablegroups- and has reached more than three million people through itshumanitarian, educational and community development programs.

Read more: New path to jobs: Iraq’s shift toward vocational education

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdistan RegionalGovernment (KRG) launched a labor dialogue forum on Tuesday with support fromthe International Labour Organization (ILO) and European Union funding, asenior KRG official said, calling the initiative a framework to promote decentwork and social justice.

At the launch ceremony inErbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Labor and SocialAffairs Minister Kwestan Mohamad noted that the Kurdistan Social Dialogue Forumbrings together the government, workers, and employers to coordinate economicand social policies, review legislation and its implementation, strengthentrade union rights, and advance international labor standards.

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) began imposing taxeson hybrid vehicles on Tuesday, while maintaining the tax exemption for fullyelectric vehicles, the Interior Ministry said.

The move follows a policy introduced in February 2025 thatexempted fully electric vehicles from registration and environmental fees inthe KRI. The measure aimed to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles andreduce their environmental impact.

Iraq has tightened its broader customs regime for importedvehicles. The federal government began enforcing revised customs procedures in2026, including a 15% duty on vehicles and the removal of a previous exemptionfor hybrid cars.

Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is drafting a new code of conduct governing how police officers interact with the public, following three days of discussions on police-citizen relations, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a press conference, Hemin Mirani, director general of the ministry’s administrative office, explained that the talks produced a draft code aimed at strengthening police discipline and setting standards for officers’ conduct, without addressing the internal organization of the police service.

The proposed measures also include new technology and equipment to modernize police work while remaining consistent with existing Kurdistan Region laws governing the Interior Ministry.

The initiative aligns with the Kurdistan Police Reform Strategy for 2026 to 2030, led by the KRG Interior Ministry with support from the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Iraq, which reviewed reform progress in Duhok, Al-Sulaymaniyah, and Erbil in late August.

Read more: The US exits Iraq: A withdrawal heralds a sovereign future

Shafaq News- Duhok

Ten fires damaged grain crops in Iraq’s Duhok province during the 2026 harvest season, causing estimated losses of 141.7 million dinars ($108,000), the provincial Civil Defense Directorate said on Tuesday.

Directorate spokesperson Capt. Bizhar Safar told Shafaq News that all 10 fires were extinguished byaharvest-season committee comprising 30 Civil Defense teams and 323 personnel that was formed on January 27 and deployed across 10 areas.

Read more: KRG tightens fire safety standards

Duhok recorded about 512 millimeters of rainfall this season, compared with 120 millimeters the previous year, while agricultural officials projected wheat production above 400,000 tons. Heavier rainfall increased vegetation and crop growth, prompting additional firefighting deployments during harvest. The province recorded 1,418 fires in 2025, including 1,010 involving wildfires or affecting forests, crops, and harvest residue, according to Civil Defense figures.

Two fires also broke out near Blokin village in Al-Sulaymaniyah province on Tuesday, burning more than 80 Iraqi dunams of pasture and grassland and 130 trees. Forest and Environment Police explained that the fires were caused by a tractor operating in the area and that its owner was detained.

1 Iraqi dunam = 2,500 m²

Shafaq News- Damascus/ Qamishli

In Qamishli, a teacher was once dismissed from Syria’sEducation Ministry after a military intelligence report accused him of“laughing in Kurdish.” Decades later, schools in the same city are preparing toteach Kurdish as part of the official curriculum, alongside Arabic and English.

Researcher and international arbitration adviser Abd Issarecalled the incident, describing it as an example of the restrictions onceimposed on the Kurdish language.

The change comes just days before the new academic year. OnAugust 27, Education Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Turko issued Decision No.2068/943, amending the executive regulations of Decree No. 13 of 2026, 10 daysbefore schools are due to reopen.

Under the new decision, Kurdish has moved from an electivesubject taught for two lessons a week under the previous regulations to acomponent of the approved curriculum at all educational levels in public andprivate schools in areas where Kurds make up a significant share of thepopulation.

The decision sets three Kurdish-language lessons a week,with the grades counting toward students’ final averages, in addition to aseparate class for activities.

During the first academic year of implementation, studentsmay also choose to study social studies, history, geography and philosophy ineither Arabic or Kurdish under the approved curricula. The arrangement isintended to ease the transition for students who previously studied thosesubjects in Kurdish in schools run by the Autonomous Administration.

The decision does not specify what will happen after thefirst year, including whether those subjects will continue to be taught inKurdish under a different arrangement or whether the transitional provisionwill expire.

Another question concerns the status of the Kurdish-languageclasses themselves: whether they will be compulsory for Kurdish students orremain an elective addition to the school schedule.

The distinction could affect participation levels anddetermine how widely the new policy is implemented.

From Elective Subject to Approved Curriculum

The first executive regulations, issued on January 26,designated Kurdish as an elective subject taught for two lessons a week. Itsgrade counted toward students’ overall average but did not affect whether theypassed or failed.

The August 27 decision increased Kurdish-languageinstruction to three lessons a week, added a separate activities class, andexplicitly made Kurdish part of the approved curriculum, with its gradeincluded in the final average.

As a result, Kurdish has gained a stronger position as asubject in the national curriculum, while its use as a language of instructionfor other subjects remains limited, under the current rules, to the first year.

The decision has drawn differing views among Kurdishpoliticians and analysts.

Academic and political analyst Ferdi Saadoun told ShafaqNews that the four classes allocated to Kurdish language and activities appearto be additional elective classes rather than a mandatory part of the corecurriculum. He cautioned that some students could opt out if the classes becomean additional academic burden.

Saadoun argued that Kurdish should instead be compulsory forKurdish students and elective for Arabs and members of other communities.

He also questioned the wording referring to “areas whereKurdish citizens constitute a significant share” of the population, askingwhether it could limit implementation in cities with large Kurdish communitiesthat do not form a majority.

Although the decision states that Kurdish has become “partof the approved curriculum,” it does not provide detailed instructions on howthe classes will be incorporated into individual schools’ daily schedules.Those details are expected to become clearer once the policy is implemented.

A National Language, Not an Official One

The legal framework began on January 16, when transitionalPresident Ahmad al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 13 of 2026, recognizing SyrianKurds as an essential and integral part of the Syrian people and their culturaland linguistic identity as part of the country’s national identity.

The decree also designated Kurdish as a “national language”and permitted it to be taught in public and private schools in areas whereKurds constitute a significant share of the population.

It did not, however, grant Kurdish the status of an officiallanguage.

That distinction is central to the Kurdish debate in Syria.Recognition as a national language places Kurdish within the country’s culturalidentity, while official-language status would entail a broader role ingovernment offices, public institutions, correspondence and public services.

Abdul Hakim Bashar, a member of parliament and of the KurdistanDemocratic Party, told Shafaq News that Kurdish had moved “from a stage ofdenial, rejection and prohibition to recognition as a national language,”describing the change as historic but insufficient.

“Recognizing Kurdish as a national language is certainly apositive and important step, but it is not enough to meet Kurdish linguisticand cultural demands.”

He called for Kurdish to become Syria’s second officiallanguage alongside Arabic in Kurdish areas, allowing its use in education,public administration and state institutions.

Kurdish politicians therefore want these rights secured notonly through decrees and executive decisions but also in Syria’s futureconstitution.

A Language Shaped by Decades of Restrictions

The sensitivity surrounding Kurdish-language education isrooted in a history spanning decades.

In 1962, an exceptional census in Hasakah province strippedaround 120,000 Kurds of Syrian citizenship, according to Human Rights Watch.The effects of statelessness later extended to generations of those families.

Citizenship was not the only point of contention. Theorganization also documented restrictions on the use of Kurdish, bans onKurdish-language publications, restrictions on cultural activities and Kurdishcelebrations, and policies affecting Kurdish cultural identity.

After the Baath Party came to power in 1963, Arabization andcultural and linguistic exclusion became entrenched over subsequent decades,with many such policies continuing under Bashar al-Assad.

In an interview with Shafaq News, author Khaldoun Qatlansaid the introduction of Kurdish into the curriculum cannot be separated fromthat history.

He described the move as more than an educational measure,calling it, in the context of previous decades, a “corrective action” thatrestores recognition to identities that had been marginalized and presentscultural and linguistic diversity as part of national unity rather than athreat to it.

Qatlan cautioned that the significance of the decision willdepend on how it is implemented.

Developing academically sound curricula and training enoughteachers proficient in Kurdish and its grammar will be key tests, hemaintained, warning that a shortage of qualified staff could turn the newclasses into a “mere symbolic facade with no educational value.”

From Autonomous Schools to State Curriculum

The situation changed after 2011 across large parts ofnortheastern Syria.

As Damascus’s authority receded, Kurdish use expanded andeventually became a language of instruction within the education systemdeveloped by the Autonomous Administration. A generation of studentssubsequently studied in Kurdish for several consecutive years.

That system, however, remained outside the centralgovernment’s formal education structure, while its curricula and certificatesremained subjects of dispute with Damascus.

Issa told Shafaq News that the effects of earlier policiesremain visible among younger generations. Many young people speak Kurdish butcannot read or write it proficiently because of the language’s long absencefrom formal education, he explained.

“What is needed is strong curricula, qualified teachers, andofficial and cultural support so that the language can regain its natural placein our homeland, Syria,” Issa said.

He also called for Kurdish-language higher education,asking: “What is wrong with having a Kurdish literature department in Syrianuniversities, and even doctoral programs in Kurdish, like any other language?”

Where Will Kurdish be Taught?

Education Minister Turko has indicated that the program willnot be limited to Hasakah province or areas where Kurds form a majority.

Kurdish-language education should reach areas where Kurdishcommunities live, including Aleppo, Damascus and Homs, as well as Hama andAfrin, Turko noted, adding that the ministry would work to introduceKurdish-language education in Afrin and train teachers for the program.

The decision allows teachers to be recruited from within oroutside the ministry’s existing staff. Applicants will undergo written and oraltests to assess their proficiency in Kurdish, while training and qualificationprograms will also be organized.

Teacher availability could become one of the first practicaltests of the policy, as Syria’s centralized education system spent decadeswithout producing Kurdish-language curricula or training teachers in thelanguage on the scale now required.

The decision also comes against the backdrop of a March 10,2025, agreement between al-Sharaa and Abdi, which recognized the Kurdishcommunity as an integral part of Syrian society and pledged constitutionalrights and citizenship, alongside the integration of civilian and militaryinstitutions in northeastern Syria into state structures.

Implementation of The Agreement Stalled before The ProcessAccelerated in 2026

On August 25, Abdi announced from Damascus the end of theSDF as an independent military force following its integration into stateinstitutions. Two days later, Damascus expanded Kurds’ place in the schoolcurriculum, and Abdi was subsequently appointed an adviser to the presidency.

The sequence does not establish a direct negotiatingconnection between the developments, but it illustrates the changing politicalcontext.

As military and administrative authority shifts toward stateinstitutions, Kurdish demands are increasingly focused on the rights thoseinstitutions will guarantee and whether those rights will survive thetransitional period.

Qatlan considers the durability of the new policy its mainchallenge, questioning whether the current steps will mark the beginning of “acomprehensive national policy that recognizes Syria’s diversity in all itscomponents” or remain tied to a particular political context.

The September 6 Test

Bashar considers the education measure significant butinsufficient on its own to guarantee Kurdish rights without clear legislationand constitutional protections that would prevent future governments fromreversing them.

Before that constitutional debate, however, the firstpractical test will come when schools reopen on September 6.

That is when details not addressed in the ministerialdecision will become apparent, including how many schools will offer Kurdish,whether teachers and textbooks are available, how classes will be incorporatedinto schedules, and how many students will enroll.

Those details will determine whether the decisionestablishes a sustainable educational path or encounters the implementationchallenges raised by Kurdish politicians and researchers.

The teacher who was once dismissed from the Education Ministryfor “laughing in Kurdish” is no longer being punished for using the language.The ministry that once dismissed him is now seeking teachers who can teach it,testing their proficiency and preparing curricula in Kurdish.

The first classes will begin on September 6.

Shafaq News

Shafaq Foundation for Cultureand Media issued the 272nd issue/ August 2026 of Feyli Magazine.

Feyli Magazine, Issue No. 272,August 2026.

Shafaq News- Erbil

For decades, Feyli Kurdishfamilies in Iraq have been waiting for an answer to a question that remainsunresolved: What happened to their missing sons?

Thousands of young Feyli Kurdsdisappeared amid campaigns of forced displacement, arbitrary detention and therevocation of Iraqi citizenship under the former regime. While some cases wereclosed on paper, others remain unresolved, with families still waiting forevidence of what happened to their relatives or for their remains to be found.

On the International Day ofthe Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the issue has returned to focus, withcalls for the truth to be established and justice delivered to families thathave spent decades waiting to learn where their loved ones were buried.

Feyli Kurdish lawmaker HaiderAbu Tara told Shafaq News that the community, particularly families of thoseforcibly disappeared, has yet to receive full redress. He recounted a casebrought to him on Sunday by a woman seeking information about her missingbrother, in which she was asked to provide his remains or any evidenceconfirming his death. “The family has still found nothing to establish hisfate. We have not even found a piece of his remains,” he said.

The lawmaker held the currentand previous governments responsible for a lack of seriousness in searching forthe remains of those who disappeared and determining their fate. The passage ofdecades, he added, has not ended the families’ suffering as they continue towait for answers and the return of their relatives’ remains.

Tareq al-Mandalawi, directorgeneral of the Legal Department at the Martyrs Foundation, affirmed that thecase of missing Feyli Kurds remains unresolved, putting the number of youngFeyli Kurds forcibly disappeared by the former regime at more than 22,000.

Most of those missing wereuniversity students, al-Mandalawi explained, after their families were forciblydeported to Iran, their movable and immovable property confiscated and theirIraqi citizenship revoked.

“The former regime detainedand disappeared young men between the ages of 16 and 35 in several prisons anddetention centers, including Abu Ghraib Prison.” Documents found at theNational Pension Authority indicate that some of them were registered as volunteerson the battlefronts and later recorded as killed, according to al-Mandalawi.

Some documents and testimonieshe reviewed also describe several missing Feyli Kurds being subjected tochemical experiments before being killed and buried in mass graves in theSamawah area. “I am a living witness to this.”

Al-Mandalawi called on therelevant government authorities to continue searching for the missing and theirremains and to establish the truth for their families. Decades ofdisappearance, he stressed, should not prevent victims’ families from learningwhat happened to their relatives.

Legal expert Nour al-Din Mahdiattributed Iraq’s failure to enact a specific law criminalizing enforceddisappearance to several factors, foremost among them delays in addressing theissue through legislation, despite Iraq having experienced widespread cases ofenforced disappearance over several decades.

The cases have been addressedseparately under various laws and decisions rather than through a unifiedstatute defining enforced disappearance as a crime and establishing theresponsibilities of relevant authorities and procedures for locating missing people,identifying remains and providing redress to their families, Mahdi said.

“A dedicated law would notonly establish penalties for those responsible,” he added, but also provide alegal framework for managing cases of missing people by creating a nationaldatabase, setting procedures for searches and investigations, regulating DNAtesting, and guaranteeing families’ right to know the fate of their relatives,recover their remains and seek compensation and other forms of redress.

The continued absence of suchlegislation leaves part of the suffering of families of the missing, includingFeyli Kurds, without a comprehensive legal remedy, Mahdi said, pointing outthat the passage of time does not extinguish a family’s right to know the truthand the fate of a missing relative.

Sabah al-Fayli, a FeyliKurdish citizen, told Shafaq News that August 30, which marks the international day commemorating victims of enforced disappearance, is a time to remember the 22,000young men who disappeared.

We remember souls, dreams, andlives stolen unjustly, while while the people themselves disappeared without us knowing theirfate, she noted, adding, “the missing were sons, fathers, brothers and loved ones, leaving behind families still waiting for news and hearts that have neverstopped asking: Where are they?”

“I am a Feyli Kurd, and Icarry this memory in my identity and in my memory. We will not forget those whodisappeared, and their story will not end as long as there is a memorypreserving their names and demanding truth and justice,” al-Fayli concluded.

Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Doctors in Al-Sulaymaniyah, in theKurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), successfully performed the first total shoulderreplacement surgery at Shar Hospital, the province’s General Directorate ofHealth announced on Monday.

The procedure replaced the rightshoulder joint of a patient who had long suffered severe pain caused by jointdeterioration, which had impaired daily activities and eventually affected thepatient’s ability to sleep.

In May, doctors at Kirkuk Maternityand Children Hospital operated on a 20-day-old infant with an extremely rarecongenital condition, in what the hospital described as Iraq’s first surgery ofits kind, with only 22 cases documented worldwide, while a medical team atKirkuk’s Azadi Teaching Hospital performed the province’s first completeremoval of the pericardium, the membrane surrounding the heart, on a19-year-old patient suffering from chronic inflammation.

Read more: Iraq’s healthcare system nears collapse

Shafaq News- Khanaqin

Kurdish parties in Khanaqin, a disputed district between the federalgovernment and the Kurdistan Region (KRI) in eastern Iraq, have called off aplanned mass protest and will send a delegation to Baghdad instead, citingconcerns for demonstrators' safety, according to a joint statement released onMonday.

The parties said the security arrangements for the gathering, meant forthe center of Khanaqin, were insufficient to ensure participants' safety.

Behind the decision sits one of Iraq's most intractable territorialdisputes. Khanaqin lies in Diyala province, among the areas claimed by both thefederal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) inErbil, and its status hinges on Article 140 of the constitution, a long-stalledmechanism for settling those disputed territories. A recent push to redraw thedistrict's administrative boundaries has dragged the question back into theopen.

Read more: The borderland bargain: Daily life inside Khanaqin’s quietly shifting frontier

From TV Remarks To Street Tensions

The latest confrontation began with a television interview. Leaders ofthe Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK), the KRI’s two dominant parties, spoke of "Arabization" anddemographic change in Khanaqin since October 16, 2017 —the day Iraqi federalforces retook the district and other disputed areas from Kurdish Peshmergafighters after the KRG's independence referendum. They pressed for Article 140to be carried out.

The remarks drew opposition in neighboring areas. In areas bordering thedistrict, residents and public figures rejected the call and questioned thelegal footing of Article 140 itself, and a few demanded that those raising itbe prosecuted.

Protest Called Off,  An Arrest Hardens The Mood

Kurdish parties met Sunday at a cultural center in Khanaqin and settledon a peaceful demonstration in the city center to demand that Article 140 andrelated constitutional clauses be enforced, a participant told Shafaq News.Organizers intended to fly the Iraqi and Kurdistan flags side by side and toprint slogans in both Arabic and Kurdish, and they insisted the event singledout none of the district's communities. Civil-society activists, meetingseparately, agreed on much the same terms.

The demonstration never went ahead. A committee overseeing it called theevent off over the risk to participants and resolved to send a delegation toBaghdad to put the area's demands to the president and other senior officials.

Sharper still was the detention of Kamran Ways Murad, a former commanderin the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella of mainly Shiite armedfactions under nominal state control. A government source told Shafaq News thata security unit had arrested Murad —better known as Abu Muntadhar al-Dalawi— inKhanaqin under Article 200 of the Penal Code, which covers incitement to"sectarian, racial and nationalist strife."

Accounts of what he said pull in opposite directions. In a video postedonline, Murad urged that Khanaqin be treated as an "Iraqi Kurdistani"city and that the rights of every community be protected, framing his remarksas a reply to a Badr Organization figure in the nearby town of Jalawla who hadattacked the Kurdish position. The security source, however, said Murad wasarrested over videos authorities viewed as incitement against Arabs in thedistrict. Murad's own path has been a winding one: he once ran Badr inKhanaqin, broke with it, later left Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and had recently alignedwith a Kurdish party.

Local PUK officials in Diyala said they knew nothing of any warrant forhis arrest.

The joint statement did more than endorse the suspension. It demandedthe immediate release of everyone held and the cancellation of arrest warrantsissued against politicians, activists and young people, calling theirinvolvement peaceful. It also urged Iraq's four top offices —the presidency,the premiership, parliament and the judiciary— along with Kurdishrepresentatives in Baghdad, to take up the area's demands throughconstitutional channels.

The Longer Dispute

None of this came out of nowhere. Khanaqin shut down in a general strikein February after the federal Planning Ministry moved to raise the Jalawlasub-district to a full district, fold Saadiya into it, and turn Qara Tapa intoa separate district, changes that would strip territory from Khanaqin. Kurdishofficials and residents branded the plan a breach of Article 140 and an attemptto shrink the district, while Shiite Arab figures in the area saw it asreinforcing their standing in the border zone near Iran. No direct comment fromthe Jalawla figure or from Arab and Turkmen residents appeared in the reportingreviewed by Shafaq News.

The article sets out three steps to decide the disputed territories'future: undoing the population changes imposed under Saddam Hussein, conductinga census, and holding a referendum in which residents choose between joiningthe Kurdistan Region and remaining under Baghdad. The timetable was meant toclose by the end of 2007, but security and political turmoil derailed it. In2019, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled that the article stays in force untilits requirements are met.

For now, the parties have asked residents to hold off until thedelegation finishes its meetings in Baghdad. The Diyala Provincial Council isdue to convene Wednesday, September 2, to question the Khanaqin districtcommissioner about the recent turmoil, a session sought in a memo backed by sixcouncil members, according to a document reviewed by Shafaq News.

Shafaq News- Halabja

Two people were killed and others injured on Monday when an old artillery shell exploded near Kani Maran village in Iraq’s Halabja province, police and health officials said.

Halabja Police spokesperson Akam Qutb Al-Din said the shell detonated while it was being handled. Farhan Hama Khan, spokesperson for Halabja’s General Directorate of Health, told Shafaq News that no final casualty figure was immediately available.

Halabja and other mountainous and border areas of the Kurdistan Region remain contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance left by decades of conflict, including the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. In June, an independent deminer removed more than 27 landmines, grenades, and artillery shells from Awesar village near the Iranian border.

Across Iraq, more than 2,700 square kilometers remained contaminated by explosive ordnance as of April 2025, according to the United Nations Mine Action Service and UNICEF.

Read more: Discover Iraq: Halabja- Where land, memory, and resilience intertwine

Shafaq News- Erbil

Disputes over customs tariffs and Iraq’s digital customs system remain unresolved between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, a senior business representative said on Monday, three weeks after the two sides reached an agreement that included an equal division of border revenues.

Gailan Haji Saeed, head of the Kurdistan Region’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce and president of the Erbil Chamber of Commerce, told Shafaq News that the federal government had implemented ASYCUDA and issued tariff decisions unilaterally, creating obstacles for traders across Iraq.

Border crossings in both federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region serve nationwide trade, requiring a joint framework for tariffs and customs procedures, he added.

Talks between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and federal authorities are now continuing to “resolve the remaining differences.”

On August 11, Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed said Baghdad and Erbil had reached a final agreement on ASYCUDA implementation at the Region’s border crossings, with revenues to be divided equally and “no obstacles remaining.” Federal and Kurdish officials had agreed in April to advance a joint ASYCUDA plan, followed by a customs memorandum signed in Baghdad on June 18 to unify procedures between the two sides.

Developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, ASYCUDA automates customs declarations, payments, valuation, and monitoring. Iraq shifted from paper to electronic customs declarations on January 1, 2025, as Baghdad expanded the system across federal customs centers. A further customs measure will take effect on October 1, requiring importers to pay estimated customs duties and tax deposits through ASYCUDA before banks complete foreign transfers for imported goods.

Customs revenue is a major source of non-oil income for the KRG, which collected 9.55 trillion dinars ($7.29B) between 2019 and 2025, including 1.09 trillion dinars ($832M) last year.

Read more: Baghdad and Erbil standardize border procedures under ASYCUDA initiative

Shafaq News- Khanaqin

Kurdish parties in Khanaqin district of Diyala province on Monday backed a temporary suspension of mass protests pending talks in Baghdad, and called for the immediate release of detainees and the cancellation of arrest warrants issued against politicians, activists and young protesters.

In a joint statement, the parties said organizers suspended the demonstrations because security arrangements were insufficient to guarantee participants’ safety.

A delegation representing Khanaqin is expected to travel to Baghdad for meetings with the Iraqi president and other senior officials to present residents’ demands and seek solutions.

The parties said protests involving residents of Khanaqin, Jalawla, Saadiya, Mandali, Qara Tapa and Jabara had sought to defend the areas’ “Kurdish identity and constitutional rights.” They accused federal authorities of “violating” Article 140 of Iraq’s Constitution.

Article 140 provides for normalization, a census and a referendum to determine the status of territories disputed between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region. The process was due to be completed by the end of 2007 but remains unresolved. Khanaqin and several surrounding areas in Diyala fall within that dispute.

The parties urged Iraq’s senior state leaders and Kurdish representatives in Baghdad to respond to the residents’ demands through constitutional and legal channels.

They also called for the release of people detained over the protests and for arrest warrants against political figures, activists and young participants to be withdrawn, arguing that their activities constituted peaceful expression of constitutional demands.

Organizers asked residents to respect the temporary suspension until the delegation completes its meetings in Baghdad.

The dispute over Khanaqin intensified earlier this year after federal authorities upgraded Jalawla and Qara Tapa to district status and detached Saadiya from Khanaqin, prompting Kurdish parties and local activists to argue that administrative changes in Article 140 territories should not proceed without agreement between Baghdad and Erbil.