ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Kurdish military commander assigned to Shingal on Thursday criticized the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as the main hurdle delaying an offensive to liberate the Yezidi town and its surroundings from ISIS.
“The PKK is the main reason behind the delay of the Shingal operation,” said Qasim Shasho, the Yezidi commander assigned to lead the Shingal Command.
“We do not want to start a fight. We all have one enemy. PKK wants to claim that they liberated Shingal and owns it,” he added.
Referring to the Turkey-based PKK and its affiliate in Syria, Shasho said: “Let them go and save the Kurds in Syria and Turkey, but we will never let them gain power over Shingal.”
The PKK sent forces to the Shingal, to fight alongside the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces, after ISIS stormed the town in August last year and unleashed a campaign of murder, looting, rape and kidnapping of girls and women.
