Armed clashes within Kurdish social party in Halabja kill one

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least one individual was killed in Halabja province late Thursday after clashes erupted between armed groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Social Democratic Party (KSDP) leader Mohammed Haji Mahmoud and his brother over property dispute.  

Abdullah Haji Mahmoud, Kurdistan Regional Government’s Martyrs and Anfal Minister, who was officially removed from his position as the deputy head of the party on Thursday during a congress, told Rudaw that a group of fighters from the party attacked his house in Halabja province.

“We were attacked with RPGs and my son was injured,” he said, claiming that one of the attackers who fired the RPG rockets was his brother. He said on Wednesday that armed men from the party attacked his son's house in the same area. 

Disputes between both brothers was caused over ownership of a property located near Gulkhana, where the headquarters of the party is located. 

Barzan Osman, spokesperson for Halabja police, confirmed to Rudaw that clashes took place in Gulkhana, adding that the tensions were ongoing. 

A large number of security forces were deployed to Gulkhana to control the situation, a local official said. Abdullah Haji Mahmoud blamed the deterioration of tensions on the security forces for failing to prevent the incident. 

Local security forces were deployed to Gulkhana when the party held an extraordinary congress on Thursday, as part of preparations for the June 10 parliamentary elections in the Region, in a bid to prevent unrest.   

A health source told Rudaw that one of the party leader’s guards was killed in the intense clashes. 

Farhad Tofiq, KSDP spokesperson, said the clashes were triggered by a property dispute, adding that one of their members was killed and another injured during the tensions. 

Raza Mohammad, mayor of Said Sadeq district, told Rudaw that a dead body had been transferred to a local hospital, identifying him as Daban Mohammed, 27. Rudaw has learned that the dead fighter was affiliated to the party leader. 

Updated at 11:22 pm