The Peshmerga forces of Iranian Kurdistan’s Komala parties have been forced to relocate from their previous camps under pressure from the Islamic Republic of Iran, ahead of this month’s deadline.
On 5 September 2024, earlier than the agreed deadline, members of all three branches of Komala (the Communist Party) were forced to leave their camps and move to the new Surdash camp, according to reports.
Footage shows that security forces from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) entered the Zargoiz region camps, where the three Komala branches were based, and transported several residents to the Surdash camp by truck.
On 2 September, a source from Rojhilati outlets reported that officials from the three branches of Komala had met with Qubad Talabani to discuss the forced relocation. During the meeting, Talabani emphasised the urgency of vacating the Zirgiwez camps and relocating to Surdash.
A Komala official confirmed that the parties had agreed with Sulaymaniyah’s security authorities not to resist the relocation, signalling a tacit disarmament.
In a recent interview with Channel 8, a Komala official stated that by 5 September, all residents of the Zirgiwez camps were required to relocate to Surdash. Komala official Idris Eisa attributed the forced transfer to pressure from Iran on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
This move is in line with a security agreement signed between Iran and Iraq on 19 March 2023, brokered by Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s National Security Council Secretary, and Qasim A’raji, Iraq’s National Security Advisor. The agreement aimed to relocate the Iranian Kurdistan parties from the Iran-Iraq border regions to the Surdash camp.
The Surdash camp, like those in Zirgiwez, is located in the Sulaymaniyah region, and its establishment is part of the Iran-Iraq security agreement intended for the forced resettlement of Peshmerga forces and their families. Pressure on Iranian Kurdistan parties in Iraqi Kurdistan has intensified since the 2022 Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) uprising and the signing of the security pact.
