Kurdish Human Rights Network (KHRN): On Tuesday, Apr 23, 2019, the forces of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Kamyaran and the Gashki Operational Axis distributed flyers in mosques in villages around Shaho mountains to anounce the beginning of military manoeuvres in the mountainous areas of the villages of Dewaznaw and Palangan.
IRGC has asked the local people to leave the area as soon as possible and warned farmers, livestock breeders, climbers and tourists about their presence in these areas. In this announcement, even livestock transportation is prohibited in the area.
“Following a maneuver yesterday afternoon at a height of Shaho near the Hanyi district of Palangan village, there was a serious clash between the IRGC forces and members of a Kurdish opposition party, as a result of which one of the members of the IRGC known as Nasser Duroui was killed and some others were wounded. “a local source has told KHRN.
According to this source , the area around the Shaho Mountain is under strict control of the IRGC forces with heavy equipment who have been deployed there from other IRGC centres.
In an interview with the state media, Political and Security Deputy to the Kurdistan Provincial Governor- Hossein Khosh Iqbal- stated that a member of IRGC had been killed.
The IRGC has been planning to establish new military bases at Shaho Mountains in the cities of Kamyaran, Ravansar and Paveh since 2007. As a result of these construction and military manoeuvres, a large part of the protected areas of Shaho and its ecosystem have been severely damaged.
Kurdish environmental activists have repeatedly protested against the destructive actions of IRGC over the past few years. These protests have always been answered by summoning, threatening and arresting environmental activists and filing allegations of security charges against them by security agencies.
