Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

On Sunday, the People’s Front Party accused “a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-linked militia” of storming the home of its leader Lahur Sheikh Jangi and killing his guards.

Sheikh Jangi previously served as co-chair of the PUK before being removed by Talabani in July 2021 amid an internal power struggle. He later founded the People’s Front Party, which won two seats in the 2024 Kurdistan parliamentary elections. Clashes broke out earlier this month in Al-Sulaymaniyah between security forces and Sheikh Jangi’s guards after a court issued arrest warrants against him.

In a statement, the People’s Front Party said the raid targeted Sheikh Jangi’s residence “outside all constitutional and legal frameworks” and with the use of live fire. It added that the fate of many detainees remains unknown and alleged that PUK-linked groups continue to raid the homes of its supporters.

The party urged both Baghdad and Erbil, and particularly the Kurdistan Region president in his role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to act immediately to stop what it described as “unlawful and inhumane practices.”

The appeal followed a statement by PUK leader Bafel Jalal Talabani, who accused an outlaw militia group of turning residential areas into military outposts and attacking security forces responsible for protecting citizens and maintaining order.

On August 27, the Al-Sulaymaniyah security directorate aired confessions from detained supporters of Sheikh Jangi, who admitted to plotting to assassinate PUK leader Bafel Talabani and Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.