Peregraf
Lahur Sheikh Jangi, leader of the People’s Front (Baray Gal), was arrested on Friday with his brothers and senior aides after overnight clashes with security forces in Sulaymaniyah that left at least four people dead and many more wounded.
The fighting broke out at the Lalezar Hotel in the city’s west, which had functioned as Sheikh Jangi’s headquarters since his split from the PUK in 2021. According to security officials, units of the Asayish, Counter-Terrorism Group and Commando forces surrounded the complex before dawn to execute arrest warrants issued under Article 56 of Iraq’s Penal Code, which covers conspiracies against state security.
Instead of surrendering, Sheikh Jangi’s loyalists — drawn from his Scorpion Force militia, estimated at several hundred fighters — resisted the operation. For more than three hours, heavy gunfire and explosions rocked the area. By morning, three members of the security forces were confirmed dead, alongside one fighter loyal to Sheikh Jangi. Dozens of vehicles were torched and nearby homes and businesses sustained significant damage.
The clashes prompted appeals for restraint from senior Kurdish officials. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called for an immediate end to the fighting, saying “these confrontations target the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region” and must be resolved “through legal means.”
Sulaymaniyah’s governor, Haval Abubakir, warned that violence would only deepen existing divisions. “Clashes and confrontations do not resolve any issue,” he said. “They only make problems more complicated and delay solutions.”
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which dominates political life in Sulaymaniyah province, has yet to comment publicly on the arrests.
The People’s Front condemned the raid, and demanding international attention. In a statement released on Friday, the party urged foreign consulates, representative offices, the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government not to remain silent over what it called a politically motivated assault.
The group declared that “the lives of Lahur Sheikh Jangi and members of the Scorpion Force are the responsibility of Bafel Talabani,” the current PUK leader and Sheikh Jangi’s cousin, with whom he has been locked in a power struggle since 2021.
Rivalry turns violent
Sheikh Jangi, once a co-president of the PUK, was forced out of the party four years ago when Bafel Talabani consolidated control of its leadership and security forces. The split marked one of the sharpest internal rifts in Kurdish politics in recent years, leaving Sulaymaniyah on edge as rival armed factions vied for influence.
After his expulsion, Sheikh Jangi established the People’s Front and later fielded candidates in the 2024 Kurdistan parliamentary elections. The party secured only two seats out of 100, a result he rejected as fraudulent. Alongside his political movement, he formed the Scorpion Force, which he described as a defensive unit but which the PUK regarded as an unlawful militia.
Friday’s events represent the most direct confrontation yet between Sheikh Jangi’s camp and the PUK-led authorities. His arrest may signal the effective dismantling of the People’s Front as a political force, given its reliance on his leadership and militia for protection.
Officials have not disclosed where Sheikh Jangi and his brothers are being held, nor have they detailed the charges he may ultimately face.
Whether his detention marks the end of his political ambitions, remains uncertain.