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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday that his country’s recent flight ban on the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani is related to the alleged “intensification” of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) activities in the province as a reference to the crashing of two helicopters carrying Syria-based Kurdsh fighters last month.
On Monday, Turkey suspended all flights to and from Sulaimani province without providing a reason, said Hiwa Mufti, CEO of Sulaimani International Airport at the time.
Tanju Bilgic, spokesperson for Turkish foreign ministry, said on Wednesday that the decision is related to “the intensification of PKK terrorist organization's activities in Sulaymaniyah, infiltration by the terrorist organization into the airport and thus threatening of flight safety,” referring to the the crashing of two helicopters in Duhok province on March 15, which were carrying anti-terrorism forces affiliated to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to Sulaimani.
Nine members of the Kurdish force were killed, including its commander, according to the SDF.
Turkey claims that the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of the SDF, is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK and considers all terrorist organizations.
SDF is the main ally of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in northeast Syria (Rojava). SDF said the force was travelling to Sulaimani “with the purpose of exchanging security and military experience to boost the level of the unit’s fighting.”
There remains a veil of mystery shrouding the crash as no one has publicly claimed ownership of the helicopters. The SDF is not known to have any aircraft in its possession.
“The decision will initially be valid until 3 July 2023 and will be re-evaluated in light of the developments that will be closely monitored in the run-up to that date,” added Bilgic in his response to a question regarding the ban.
Bafel Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which controls Sulaimani province, sent his condolences on the deaths of Rojava counterterrorism forces (YAT) fighters, praising the cooperation between his party’s counterterrorism unit and the YAT. He posted a photograph with the late YAT commander in a helicopter and donned the YAT uniform during an event in Sulaimani.
Talabani visited Rojava in late December when he met with the SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi. They talked about "developing anti-terror joint efforts to preserve the region's stability.”
Turkish officials have repeatedly accused Sulaimani authorities of supporting the PKK. Turkish forces often carry out aerial attacks in the province on the grounds of targeting the PKK.
Following the events of October 2017, international airspace to Erbil and Sulaimani airports was ordered closed by the Iraqi federal government. Turkey and most other countries opened their airspace to planes bound for Erbil in March 2018. However, Ankara refused to open its airspace to flights bound for Sulaimani, citing PUK’s alleged support to the PKK.
In 2017, Ankara expelled the PUK’s representative to Turkey after the PKK captured two Turkish intelligence agents in Sulaimani province.
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