Kamaran Najm

Stories by the Author

Hundreds of Yezidi gather at the sacred Lalish Temple in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan near the city of Mosul on April 14, as they wait for the sun to set to begin New Year's celebrations. The Yezidi, a religious minority found in northern Iraq, call their New Year celebration Chwar Shema Sur, or Red Wednesday. The Yezidi are the descendants of Zoroastrians, and have been often targeted in the past for their beliefs.

Iraq's Yezidi Celebrate New Year

22 Apr 10

Kurdish security forces move to pacify demonstrators in the town of Pirmagrun on December 23, following a day of rioting that left dozens of people wounded. By nightfall, hundreds of riot police and troops had entered the town in armoured personnel carriers followed by ambulances. The security forces announced their arrival by firing automatic weapons in the air, eyewitnesses said.

Focus on Kurdish Riots

Photographs by Kamaran Najm/Metrography for IWPR.

24 Dec 09

DNA Testing to Reveal Mass Grave Secrets

First Iraqi project to identify victims of Saddam’s crimes against the Kurds underway at site near Kirkuk.

21 Dec 09

New Mass Grave Excavations in Iraq

Mass graves near Kirkuk, first discovered after US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, now being examined in joint forensics operation by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments.

18 Dec 09

Erbil Citadel Set for Major Renovation

26 Nov 09

Iraqi Border Farewell for Kurdish Rebels

26 Oct 09

Election Day in Iraqi Kurdistan

31 Jul 09

Life in Border Refugee Camps

18 May 09

Kirkuk Night Raid

20 Nov 08

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