Hussein Yazdanpanah
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Hussein Yazdanpanah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nicknames | Kurdish Stalin Mam Hussein |
| Born | April 30, 1966 Saqqezlu, Iran |
| Allegiance | Kurdistan Freedom Party |
| Rank | General Commander |
| Commands | National Army of Kurdistan (SMK) (1991-present) |
| Conflicts | |
Hussein Yazdanpanah (born April 30, 1966 in Saqqezlu, Iran), also known as Mam Hussein and Kurdish Stalin is a Kurdish military leader, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK).[1][2]
Yazdanpanah was born in the village of Saqqezlu, near the town of Bukan. He comes from a long lineage of fighters for the freedom of Kurds and their right for self-determination. In 1881, Yazdanpanah's grandfather Fayzulla Bayg led a thousand Kurdish fighters against the Qajar Dynasty.
During his teenage years, Yazdanpanah engaged in political activities amid the Iranian Revolution, which led to his arrest by the new Iranian regime on two occasions. The bloody crackdown on Kurdish opposition led his family to flee into the Zagros Mountains. Following the death of his brother Rashid, Yazdanpanah aspired to join the Peshmerga and fight against the Iranians. In Ranya, Iraqi Kurdistan his other brother, Said Yazdanpanah, founded the Revolutionaries' Union of Kurdistan.[3][4][5]
Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK)
A few months after its foundation in 1991, Hussein Yazdanpanah took over the Revolutionaries' Union of Kurdistan after his brother, Said, was killed in an assassination. Hussein has remained at the helm of the organization ever since and renamed it the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) in 2006.[5]
Yazdanpanah involved his party in various conflicts to defend Kurdish interests and rights, including the War against the Islamic State and the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict of 2017.[6] Although Yazdanpanah holds the rank of General, he adopts an unconventional approach by actively fighting alongside his soldiers on the frontlines rather than remaining behind the command lines.[7][8] As a result, he has been described as a 'frontline general'.[9] Yazdanpanah played a significant role in the Liberation of Sinjar from ISIS.[10]