Hussein Yazdanpanah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | Mam Hussein |
| Born | April 30 1966 (age 59) Saqqezlu, Iran |
| Allegiance |  Kurdistan Freedom Party |
| Rank | General Commander |
| Commands | Kurdistan Freedom Eagles for East Kurdistan (1991-present) |
| Battles / wars | • War against the Islamic State • Western Iran clashes (2016) Contents• Battle of Altun Kupri (2017) |
Hussein Yazdanpanah, also known as Mam Hussein, 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 to self-determination. Back 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]
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] As a result, he has been described as a 'frontline general'. [8]
Yazdanpanah strives for an independent 'Greater Kurdistan' and not merely autonomy. He is also vocal in his critique of the disunity among Kurdish parties, saying, “The tragedy is that throughout history we have been divided among ourselves". [4]