ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Clashes broke out between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the military wing of a Iranian Kurdish political group in Erbil province over the weekend, a military leader confirmed to Rudaw on Sunday.
“The PKK guerillas apparently were not aware of our trainings. They first came here and asked us to move away, and we agreed, but to showcase their power and force, they came back and fired shots in the air over our base, and our Peshmerga answered their shots,” Abdullah Azarbar, head of the military wing of the Komala party, an Iranian Kurdish political group, told Rudaw.
Azarbar said their fighters had been attending a military training course in Erbil’s Sidakan sub-district for the past few days, and have now begun coordinating with local security forces after tensions with the PKK broke out on Saturday evening. No one was injured, he added.
The PKK is yet to comment on the incident.
Sidakan, 90 kilometers northeast of Erbil city, is in the mountainous areas bordering Iran to the east and Turkey to the west. The area is frequently bombarded by Turkey and Iran due to the presence of PKK fighters who have laid mines in unpopulated areas to prevent the advance of Turkish forces, and the existence of Iranian opposition groups in the area.
Komala is a leftist Kurdish armed opposition party based in the Kurdistan Region and fights for the rights of Kurds in Iran. The party is divided into at least two branches.
The PKK is also based in the Kurdistan Region's mountainous areas, fighting for the rights of Kurds in Turkey, and has been in conflict with Ankara for decades.
Additional reporting: Sirwan Abbas
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