ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Security forces in Sulaimani on Thursday “forcefully relocated” the exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition groups’ Peshmerga forces from their bases in the village of Zrgwez to a refugee camp in the province’s Surdash area, a move which immediately drew condemnation from the Kurdish armed groups of Iran. 

“Today, before midday, the authorities of Sulaimani administration compelled the three Komala parties to abide by a decision to leave their old camps, forcefully relocating the Peshmerga and their families,” announced the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) in a statement published on Friday.

The Komala of Revolutionary Toilers of Iranian Kurdistan (Shorshger) and the Komala of the Toilers of Kurdistan (Zahmatkeshan)  and Komala Party of Iranian Kudistan - all leftiist groups -  have bases in Zrgwez.

According to a security pact reached between Iraq and Iran in September 2023, the exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition groups should be disarmed and removed from their bases near Iranian border, and be relocated to refugee camps. 

A senior official of Zahmatkeshan told The New Region that they were in contact with Iraqi and PUK leaders to learn about “how is the mechanism of the relocation and what would our new place be like.” 

Iran had repeatedly threatened to take matters into their own hands through military actions if Baghdad failed to implement the details of the pact. 

Soon after the deal was signed, Baghdad announced that they had disarmed and removed the Kurdish opposition groups on the border.

The Surdash Camp was set up in Sulaimani within the framework of the Iran-Iraq agreement for the Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. According to the agreement, the parties’ Peshmerga forces, cadres and their families should be stationed at the camp and remain under watch.

The agreement had not been materialized until the PUK ramped up efforts and mounted pressure on the groups since last week.

The removal of the Iranian Kurdish exiled opposition groups is part of the “conspiracies of Tehran against the freedom movements of Rojhelat of Kurdistan [Kurdish regions of western Iran],” the statement added.

The PAK said “the decision was ordered by Baghdad and implemented by the Sulaimani administration.”

“The Kurdistan Freedom Party, despite condemning this action, is calling on the Sulaimani administration, the president and leadership of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to put an end to this forceful relocation,” the statement read. 

The armed Kurdish opposition groups of Iran have fought an on-and-off war with the Islamic Republic of Iran for decades now, striving for greater rights of Kurds in the western regions of the country.

Tehran considers the Kurdish groups threats to its national security, repeatedly calling on the KRG to stop them from using the border areas as a launchpad for attacks, however all Komala parties have time and again claimed that they are in a state of self defense and have not provoked Tehran.

Other Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups taking shelter in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), and Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK).

Iran regularly carries out cross-border artillery, drone and ballistic missiles on alleged positions of the Kurdish armed groups, with civilians often caught in crossfire.