ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two Peshmerga from the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) were killed in a clash with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province on Saturday night, a KDPI commander told Rudaw English. “At 11 pm last night, a group of our Peshmerga was attacked on the road between Mahabad and Piranshar by a large force of the IRGC. As a result, two of our Peshmerga were martyred,” Kawa Bahrami, the head of the KDPI’s Peshmerga command, told Rudaw English on Sunday. The two Peshmerga fighters who were killed in the clash were named Hadi Sheikha and Ayub Sultani, according to a statement released by the KDPI. Bahrami said the fight was uneven. “Our forces were outnumbered in the attack and as a result, we lost two of our members,” the KDPI commander said. The KDPI is a Kurdish party that has waged an on-and-off armed war against the Iranian government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is based in the Kurdistan Region in areas Iran has occasionally shelled on the pretense of targeting the group. Bahrami added they have both an armed and unarmed presence in Iran as part of Rasan – a project to increase their political and military presence in Iranian Kurdistan, or Rojhelat. The Peshmerga forces often come under attack by Iranian forces, according to the commander, who said they only defend themselves. “We do not attack, we are usually attacked, and whenever we have engaged in fighting, it was to defend ourselves,” Bahrami said. There have been five clashes between Kurdish and Iranian forces over the first five months of 2021, according to data provided to Rudaw English by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights director Arsalan Yarahmedi. Four members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), four KDPI Peshmerga and eight IRGC soldiers have been killed in the clashes. Three Iranian intelligence soldiers have also been killed. Earlier this month, the KDPI confirmed the killing of two of its Peshmerga fighters in a clash with the IRGC in Mahabad. Eleven members of Kurdish forces were killed in 23 clashes with Iranian forces in 2020, according to Hengaw’s annual report. Families of Peshmerga fighters faced threats and attacks from IRGC forces earlier this year following videos posted on the KDPI’s official twitter account that showed Peshmerga fighters celebrating Newroz openly walking through Kurdish cities in Iran. Newroz, the New Year holiday, coincides with the spring equinox and is celebrated in both Kurdish and Persian cultures. The IRGC is also known for torture and harsh treatment in its prison wards, usually holding political prisoners. At least 2,000 people were arrested in Iran in 2019 for joining armed Kurdish forces or for activism deemed suspicious, according to data provided to Rudaw English by Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) founder Rebin Rahmani earlier this year. At least 400 people were arrested in 2020, Rahmani said.
