The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has significantly increased its military presence since the beginning of the week in the protected areas of Mount Kusalan in Sarvabad, Kurdistan province of Iran, France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported.
The IRGC has been bombing Kurdish parties in the mountainous regions in Kurdish-populated regions in Iran’s west, known as Rojhilat. There are also reports of IRGC drones flying over Shaho Mountain in Kamyaran, Kurdistan province.
Local villagers near Mount Kusalan shared their experiences with the KHRN, highlighting the destructive actions of the IRGC. The sources revealed that the IRGC has been constructing a new road in the area while simultaneously bombing the border heights. This construction has caused significant damage to the pristine and protected nature of the mountain.
Concerned environmental activists have expressed their worries, asserting that the IRGC is planning to establish its second base in the protected mountain of Kusalan. Similar military exercises conducted by the IRGC in previous years resulted in the destruction of a significant portion of the natural environment in the area due to the construction of roads and bases.
The IRGC views the Shaho and Kusalan mountains as strategic geographical locations for the movement and settlement of Kurdish opposition parties. This view has led the IRGC to establish military bases in these mountainous areas, gradually declaring them as military zones and displacing the local inhabitants.
The Shaho and Kusalan protected regions, spanning over 57,236 hectares, are located along the border with Iraqi Kurdistan, between the towns of Sarvabad, Ravansar, Paveh, Marivan, and Kamyaran. In 2009, these areas were designated as protected by the Ministry of Environment. However, since 2007, the IRGC has been constructed military bases in these protected areas, disregarding objections from environmentalists. These military activities have resulted in the destruction of pasturelands and forests, with the construction of roads in their place.
Adding to the environmental impact, the IRGC has deliberately burned pastures and forests surrounding the military bases, claiming it is done to prevent the use of vegetation cover by Kurdish opposition parties for attacks.
