ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Top Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Monday accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of invading the autonomous region in northern Iraq while Peshmerga forces were fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) group.
The leader of the Kurdistan Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said that while Peshmerga was fighting ISIS from 2014, “PKK fighters invaded these border areas and then some others instead of supporting the experience of the Kurdistan Region,” referring to areas in Nineveh province such as Shingal and villages on the Kurdistan Region’s border with Turkey.
“They imposed their authority as a replacement for the [Kurdistan Regional] government, and prevented people from renovating their villages. Additionally, [villagers] were taxed when visiting their own areas,” added Barzani, also former president of the Kurdistan Region.
The PKK is a Kurdish armed group fighting for increased cultural and political rights of Kurds in Turkey. It has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish state since 1984, and is deemed a terrorist organisation by Ankara.
The PKK took control of parts of Shingal and surrounding areas in 2014 during the war against ISIS. The group also made some advances on Kurdistan Region’s borders with Turkey after some Peshmerga forces were redeployed to the frontlines against ISIS.
The PKK and its media outlets have claimed that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has recently deployed forces in Duhok province’s Zebari and Gare areas to ward them off. The KRG has not responded on the claim.
“The forces in question strove to advance and station in the guerrilla areas in the Gare region within the Akre district borders on October 25, 2020. Our forces in this area have warned the KDP forces not to advance further in the guerrilla areas,”the PKK said in a statement in late October.
Intra-Kurdish war
Barzani had previously stated that he will not allow intra-Kurdish fighting in the Kurdistan Region.
“We are proud of the fact that we have made it haram [religiously banned] for us to engage in intra-Kurdish fighting because everyone, including Kurdistan’s people, have lost a lot in fighting and conflict,” he said on Monday.
Deadly fighting broke out between Kurdish political parties in the Kurdistan Region in the 1990s, especially between the KDP and PKK.
“However, this position should not be misunderstood and exploited to challenge the legal authority of the Kurdistan Region and impose illegal, military intentions over the people of Kurdistan,” added Barzani.
He called on the PKK to leave areas previously controlled by the KRG - a call made by top KRG officials multiple times.
“The best position to take is to respect the legitimate and legal authority of the [Kurdistan] Region and abandon all those areas it has forcibly invaded and put the lives of Kurdistan Region’s people at risk.”
Scores of villages in Duhok province have been emptied due to regular conflict between Turkey and the PKK, especially the latest Turkish offensive which began in mid-June. Ankara, which regularly bombs areas in the Kurdistan Region to supposedly target PKK fighters and bases, has conducted multiple operations against the group both inside and outside Turkey.
Murat Karayilan, a member of the PKK’s Executive Council, told the party-affiliated Sterk TV on October 27 that the PKK also wishes to avoid intra-Kurdish fighting. He claimed that the KDP is carrying out “serious military activities” in areas where the PKK is present.
"We observe serious military activities. At almost all points of our guerrilla forces, there are attempts by the KDP to station its own forces. If one route connects two of our positions, they are trying to set up military guards exactly there," he was quoted by PKK-affiliated Firat News Agency (ANF) as telling Sterk TV.
“Personally, I would like to refrain from giving the order to target Kurds. Nobody within our movement wants this. It is important that this is understood by our counterpart. We are not afraid of war, after all, we fight the enemy every day. But to start an inter-Kurdish war is not what we want," said Karayilan.
“There were almost serious clashes. We intervened and defused the conflict. But if this continues, there is a high probability that a conflict will develop from these provocations,” he added, referring to tensions between the PKK and KDP-affiliated Peshmerga fighters in Duhok’s Zebari area.
However, Sarbast Lazgin, KRG’s deputy Peshmerga minister, told Rudaw on Sunday that a party is pushing the PKK against the Kurdistan Region, adding they will fight the group if they to.
His comments came after the PKK exploded a Kurdistan-Turkey oil pipeline, the main source of income for the Kurdistan Region which is already suffering from a crippling economic crisis.
