Turkey the greater threat to Iraq, says PKK umbrella group
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A day after Iraq banned the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an umbrella organization for the group said the real threat to Iraq comes from Turkey, not the PKK.
“It is necessary to recognize that the biggest security threat to Iraq is the fascist regime of Turkey,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Community Union (KCK) that accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of wanting to invade and occupy areas of Iraq, including Kirkuk and Mosul, as he looks to revive the Ottoman Empire. The statement was published on Friday by PKK-affiliated Firat News Agency (ANF).
A day earlier, the Iraqi and Turkish foreign ministries issued a joint statement after a meeting in Baghdad. “Both sides stressed that the PKK organization represents a security threat to both Turkey and Iraq, and it is certain that the presence of the organization on Iraqi territory represents a violation of the Iraqi constitution,” read the statement.
Iraq banned the PKK and the two sides discussed measures against the group.
The PKK has been based in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains for four decades and Turkish forces frequently cross the border, carrying out air raids and ground operations against the group. The Turkish army has established numerous military outposts in northern Duhok province and this summer it expects to complete a zone that Erdogan said would “permanently resolve” security issues along the border.
Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization that monitors Turkey’s operations in the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw last month that Ankara conducted 1,548 attacks in the Region in 2023.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the conflict, most recently last week when two men were killed in a suspected Turkish airstrike while working in their orchards.
The KCK also pointed to ongoing disputes between Baghdad and Ankara over shared water resources in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as further evidence for its claim that Turkey is not a friendly nation. It also said that one of Turkey’s goals is to destroy the achievements of Kurds in Iraq, where their rights and identity are recognized.
“Our call to the Iraqi government is to stop the occupying Turkish state from hiding its war crimes behind the Iraqi flag, which protects the rights and existence of Kurds in accordance with its constitution. Turkey is committing genocide against the Kurdish people while disguising this act as a measure for border security,” said the KCK.
“It is necessary to recognize that the biggest security threat to Iraq is the fascist regime of Turkey,” read a statement from the Kurdistan Community Union (KCK) that accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of wanting to invade and occupy areas of Iraq, including Kirkuk and Mosul, as he looks to revive the Ottoman Empire. The statement was published on Friday by PKK-affiliated Firat News Agency (ANF).
A day earlier, the Iraqi and Turkish foreign ministries issued a joint statement after a meeting in Baghdad. “Both sides stressed that the PKK organization represents a security threat to both Turkey and Iraq, and it is certain that the presence of the organization on Iraqi territory represents a violation of the Iraqi constitution,” read the statement.
Iraq banned the PKK and the two sides discussed measures against the group.
The PKK has been based in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains for four decades and Turkish forces frequently cross the border, carrying out air raids and ground operations against the group. The Turkish army has established numerous military outposts in northern Duhok province and this summer it expects to complete a zone that Erdogan said would “permanently resolve” security issues along the border.
Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization that monitors Turkey’s operations in the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw last month that Ankara conducted 1,548 attacks in the Region in 2023.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the conflict, most recently last week when two men were killed in a suspected Turkish airstrike while working in their orchards.
The KCK also pointed to ongoing disputes between Baghdad and Ankara over shared water resources in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as further evidence for its claim that Turkey is not a friendly nation. It also said that one of Turkey’s goals is to destroy the achievements of Kurds in Iraq, where their rights and identity are recognized.
“Our call to the Iraqi government is to stop the occupying Turkish state from hiding its war crimes behind the Iraqi flag, which protects the rights and existence of Kurds in accordance with its constitution. Turkey is committing genocide against the Kurdish people while disguising this act as a measure for border security,” said the KCK.