Today, Monday, Sulaimani Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect on charges of deceiving people. "After several citizens filed a complaint against a suspect, fraudulently going to their shops and businesses under various pretexts to take money from them without the intention to return them, the suspect was arrested," the police explained in the statement. 

The Sulaimani Police Department posted a footage showing a market cashier lending money to the grifter.

The detained suspect is 34 years old and identified only in his initials, per the police. "The swindler has previous criminal records, and was previously charged with fraud and kidnapping people in Sulaimani," the police noted in a statement.

According to the authorities, the grifter confessed to the crime before the judge and is currently in police custody pending trail. 

Today, Monday, Commando Forces of Kurdistan, on its Facebook page, announced the passing of its top commander Akam Omar, saying "he fulfilled his promises to the Kurdistan region."

Omar passed away today evening in a hospital in Germany. Many people on social media expressed their grief for the commander's passing, saying that his absence would be felt. 

On October 19, the Kurdistan Commando Forces (KCF) launched a search operation for IS remnants in the town of Zenana in Sulaimani's Garmian district; several land mines went off on the KFC convoy, killing KCF explosives specialist Mohammed Zuhair, and the force's top commander Akam Omar. Omar was hospitalized in Sulaimani but was later moved to a hospital in Germany for better care. 

Omar played a significant role in strengthening and serving the Kurdistan region's Peshmerga forces; as a young commander, he participated in many battles against ISIS terrorist groups and kept the region secure. 

The passing of Akam Omar, brother, friend and commander of Commando Forces of Kurdistan, created a big wound in our hearts that certainly will not heal soon but, on the contrary, will deepen as years pass by.

Today, as we announce the martyrdom of this brave commander, we cannot avoid thinking about all the struggle and bravery that this sincere and revolutionary brother of mine embodied. From the onset, he had gifted himself to Kurdistan and its people. His life was a series of continuous sacrifices for the sake of Kurdistan's prosperity and the prosperity of his Kurdish people.

He was honest with himself and with Kurdistan. Despite the injuries he sustained in various military confrontations, he stood tall like the mountains of Kurdistan and was ready to protect the lives of the Kurdish people with bravery and a selfish spirit. A look back at recent history and the fight against ISIS reminds us that the blows Commander Akam and his solid force gave to the enemy will be proudly registered in the annals of history.

Friends and foes know he was a high-flying hawk, a mountain of bravery, and an unwritten epic. We know very well that the void created by Akam's absence cannot be filled easily. We are also equally confident that the force he helped create will not bow easily in front of storms.

They will continue on the same path with the same high values held and defended by their commander. And to show the highest levels of loyalty and sacrifice, they will write history with their blood. May the soul of Commander Akam rest in peace. I vow, in honor of his bravery, to be a Peshmerga ready to sacrifice for Kurdistan.

We will protect the lives and livelihood of our people; we will make sure this brother's soul will rest in peace. I send my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the family, friends, and trench comrades of Commander Akam. I promise them that we will make his memories the guiding light for our path and take revenge for the blood he gave for the sake of Kurdistan. 

Bafel Jalal Talabani President of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. 

Today, Monday, Chief of President Jalal Talabani Secretariat Office Qubad Talabani, visited , Secretary General of the Islamic Union Salahaddin Mohammed Bahaaddin in Erbil.

The two sides discussed the situation in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq and stressed the importance of protecting citizens' rights, providing better services, and resolving disputes, according to people similar to the matter.

The two leaders spoke of the importance of the constitution in settling the Erbil-Baghdad disputes.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Islamic Union of Kurdistan (IUK) have maintained friendly relations for decades. The PUK and IUK usually join efforts for democratic policies in the Kurdistan region.

Today, Saturday, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) delegation from the House of Representatives met with the newly appointed Kirkuk Joint Operations Commander.

KurdSat English reporter in Kirkuk said the delegation discussed the recent tensions between Arab and Kurdish farmers in the disputed territories. Last week Kurdish and Arab farmers clashed with stones and sticks as Arab farmers tried to plow Kurdish-owned lots in Daquq’s Haftaghar area.

PUK MP in the Iraqi Parliament Karim Shukur told Kurdsat English that the commander of the joint operations in Kirkuk listened carefully to our concerns and promised to follow up on them.

"As I observed, the commander is willing to bring about peace and stability in the region and to coordinate with us to settle the disputes,” Shukur noted.

The 2017 Kurdistan region referendum led to the expulsion of Kurdistan region peshmerga from Kirkuk and the rest of the disputed territories, leading to a renewed phase of Arabization in the region. 

Currently, many Kurdish farmers are denied access to their farmlands, with some prevented from watering their crops, as Arabs claim ownership of their lands.

In a report released yesterday, the crisis-hit country’s human rights watchdog reported that 11,000 families have reported missing a family member from 2017 to 2022.

“The terrorist group ISIL has been active in Iraq in the past eight years and occupied one-third of Iraqi territory from 2014 to 2017, some of whom went missing during that time,” the group wrote in the report. Iraq tops the list of countries with the most disappearances, per the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights cited the Iraq-American war, ineffective law enforcement, and the rise of terrorist groups as the main drive behind the disappearances of tens of thousands of people in the past two years.

Iraqi authorities, especially in the south, sometimes violated the due process rights of suspects, such as guarantees in Iraqi law that detainees see a judge within 24 hours and have access to a lawyer throughout interrogations and that their families are notified and should be able to communicate with them during detention.

Today, Saturday, about 150 trees of different ages were cut down, Kani Mirani Baba Ali village in Penjwen district of Sulaimani province, Sulaimani Forest Guard department said in a statement on Facebook.

"The trees cut down were to clear land for agriculture," the Forest Guard said. Although, the logged trees were on a mountain unsuitable for farming, an environmental activist told KurdSat English. 

The Forest Guard added that the Penjwen Forest Guard seized the logs, and two people who cut the trees were summoned before a judge on charges of cutting down the trees. The department did not reveal the charges pressed against the perpetrators or the sentences they would face.

2022 has seen an increase in logging as fuel prices have increased and people turn to firewood to heat their homes, among other purposes.

The Oslo-based Hengaw Human Rights Group that reports on the unrest in Iranian Kurdistan, reported that following the three-days nation-wide general strike, 18 people were arrested in Shno (Oshnavieh) with security forces opening fire at closed businesses and shopkeepers.

Iranian security forces opened fire on business owners in Sanandaj’s Firdausi Street during the strike, the Rojhelat human rights watch dog reported.

The authorities have revoked licenses of business that joined the strike and took over their properties, per Hengaw. The general strike in Iranian Kurdish cities have stalled all business and brought normal life to a halt.

The strikes have become an active anti-government disobedience. People find it difficult to access basic services, prompting the authorities to increase their crackdown on the protesters.

Today, Sunday, Greece-based journalist Ranj Pishdari, told KurdSat English that 35 Kurdish migrants were stranded in French waters for more than three hours due to strong waves, but were rescued after reaching out to French authorities and NGOs. The migrants are now safe in French shelters, per Pishdari.

People from the Kurdistan region that migrate to Europe in search for a better life, usually call on Ranj Pishdari when they face problems.

Chwarta Mayor Shaho Osman told Kurdsat English that a surveillance drone flew over the v Spidara Village in the Zalan district last night. A warplane bombed the village but caused no casualties.

Also, yesterday, Turkish warplanes bombed the areas of Garwa Sanga and Barbzin Mountain in the Bradost borderland twice. Turkish warplanes continue to bombard areas in the region close to habitations.

Kurdsat English reporter noted that Turkish drones were hovering over Bradost for half an hour minute and later bombed the areas of Garwa Sanga and Barbzin Mountain twice. It is the third time in a week that Turkey has attacked the region.

He said the bombed areas were restricted zones. On Thursday, the Turkish army opened random fire on the villages of Khalifan and Siran.

The Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) announced the arrest of a man who confessed to killing Azad Ahmed, a top Kirkuk student. The CTG published the Killer’s confession, who alleged to have murdered the 17-year-old student following an argument.

The murderer is a gun salesman from Sulaimani’s Chamchamal district, a thirty minutes drive from Kirkuk. “He reached out to me to purchase a gun and we agreed on a $230 gun, and [Ahmed] asked to deliver him the gun,” the perpetrator said in his televised confession. The gun dealer has a good online presence and uses social media to sell his firearms. 

The gun salesman said, when I arrived in Kirkuk to hand him the gun, I found out that he was a "just teenager with $800 US in his possession" and asked me to give him a ride to remote place to try the gun. Earlier stories surrounding his death claim that he was abducted, and later shot when he went to buy an Xbox in a Kirkuk bazaar. 

According to the Killer, when they went to test the gun, the man asked the teenager to hand him over the gun to show him how it is done, and when he does, the Killer points the pistol at him, forcing him to remove his clothes; Azad asks why and he says to film you for future ransoms; after Azad takes off his top, the teenager attacks the man, prompting the man to shoot him in the chest. "I shot him in the chest, and shot him in the head again, to make sure that he was dead," the Killer confessed in CTG custody.

Ahmed Azad died 11 days ago near Kirkuk’s Soma City with two shots in his body. He was one of the top students at the university of Kirkuk. Kurdistan Regional Government awarded Azad for his excellent academic achievements. News of his death rocked the Kurdistan region, and many demanded swift justice. 

Relatives and friends of Azad thanked the CTG and Asaysh forces for bringing to justice Azad's killer just after ten days, 

Kurdsat English reporter in Rojava said that Turkey targeted the villages of Miasa and Zrnaita in Afrin;s Sherawa subdistrict this morning.

Rojava media reported in just six days, Turkey targeted 14 towns and villages in the Zargan area in western Al-Hasakah with 87 artillery shells, leaving several casualties.

Turkey has been carrying out air strikes in northern and eastern Syria for two weeks, killing civilians, members of SDF and Syrian army soldiers, also leaving dozens of houses, schools, mosques and offices destroyed.

Sulaimani police arrested five people charged with robbing several jewelry shops in Sulaimani’s main bazaar, the suspects are women, and four of them are Arabs.

Sulaimani police arrested five suspects in connection with a theft in the gold market, police said, and they have confessed to the crime.

According to the police, the arrestees are women, four of whom are Arabs and have criminal records.

Jewelry robbing is not rare in the Kurdistan region. Women usually rob jewelers as they are the primary jewelry customers since Islam strictly prohibits men from wearing gold and many other jewelry pieces.  Women usually steal from such shops when they pretend to shop. 

The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Communities Board said that the attack on Kurdish farmers in Haftagar town is a repetition of Arabization, and the Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Governments must urgently address the issue.

PUK Minorites Bureau Director Hasiba Abdullah said that the assault on Kurdish farmers in Haftagar in Kirkuk's Daquq noted that the purpose of occupying the Kurdish-owned farmland in the disputed territories continue the Arabization policy in Kirkuk, which the late Ba'ath regime adopted to distort the demographics of the province.

Earlier, some Arab farmers went to farm tracts of farmland that belonged to the Kurds, prompting the Kurds to attack the Arabs and forcing them to leave their lands. The Arabs ignored court rulings that proved the Kurdish ownership of the farmlands. In November, Kirkuk's Daquq Court of Appeal ruled the return of over 800 acres of land to Kurdish farmers in the area.

Abdullah noted that the director and the Kurdish leadership have a long-standing duty to address the issue, and the responsibility of the Kurdistan Regional Government is to investigate the dispute. Kurds face many difficulties in the Baghdad-controlled Kirkuk, as raising Kurdistan flag is banned and use of Kurdish language of advertisement billboards is prohibited. 

The PUK director explained that it is also the Federal Iraqi Government's primary duty to resolve the issue in accordance with the article of the constitution and the decisions of the High Committee for the Implementation of Article 140. PUK's efforts led to the revival of The High Committee after years of negligence.

The director said that the UN should intervene to solve the issue per the Iraqi constitution and explained that the silence of the Kirkuk administration over the past five years serves as support for the relocated Arabs in their attacks on Kurdish farmers to occupy their agricultural lots.

The head of the PUK's minatory board noted that Arabization feeds on the distortion of the long-standing relationship between the communities of Kirkuk. The director also warned Kirkuk governorate and the Iraqi government of their responsibilities to prevent a full-blown conflict from happening.

The 2017 Kurdistan region referendum led to the expulsion of Kurdistan region peshmerga from Kirkuk and the rest of the disputed territories, leading to a renewed phase of Arabization in the region. 

Earlier this week an online application form was open for people willing to serve in the Iraqi Border Guard Force, the guard’s website had crashed due to a rush of visitors, and a new application form would be launched soon, per the spokesperson. Last Tuesday, Iraqi Interior Ministry launched the application form but later removed it.

Earlier, Karwan Khoshnaw told KurdSat English there is a 12,000km-long border of Kurdistan region with Iran and Turkey, but had not recruited anyone for several years.   

Following intense Iranian and Turkish bombardments on the Kurdistan region, the Iraqi government, after talks with Iranian and Turkish governments decided to deploy Baghdad controlled Iraqi border guards in the Kurdistan region to create a buffer zone between Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan region and neighboring Iran and Turkey.

Although, Iraqi border guards were already positioned in the borders of the Kurdistan region, the current plan aims to increase their number to denied the groups contact with Iranian and Turkish borders, and reduce Turkish and Iranian incursions into the Iraqi federal region.