SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — Bafel Talabani, co-leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), issued a statement on Saturday saying no one is above the law, days after the son of a senior party official shot up a Sulaimani policeman’s house.
Four people were injured on Wednesday when Alan Aziz, the son of prominent PUK politician Qadir Aziz, brought over 15 other armed men to a member of law enforcement’s house and allegedly opened fire on him and his family after a road dispute. The police officer in question, Sheikhal Ibrahim, says he fired back in response.
“We will not allow anyone, any party or group to disturb the peace of Sulaimani and we will not accept any violation of the law from anyone at any position in our zone,” Talabani said in a meeting with a number of PUK organizations, reports official party media.
The PUK is a ruling party in the Kurdistan Region, in charge of security in Sulaimani and Halabja provinces.
“No violations will go unpunished and we will not accept any violations of the law at any level,” said Talabani. “I advise no one tests our resolve.
No arrests have been announced in relation to the incident.
Qadir Aziz’s office released a statement on Friday acknowledging the incident.
It claims that when Aziz’s son Alan was driving home on Salim Street, “he was insulted by a police officer for no reason.”
In turn, “without the knowledge of his father,” he took a group of his father’s bodyguards to the officer’s house, and fire was exchanged, it reads.
Gun violence has become an all too frequent affair in the Kurdistan Region. On January 27, two brothers were shot dead in Erbil’s Ainkawa neighbourhood because of a “social feud,” police told Rudaw.
Social feud often refers to a number of issues, including issues related to land, tribal disputes, and romantic or sexual relations between unmarried people.
Angry customers opened fire at an Erbil pacha restaurant early on January 15 after being told it was out of food.
The year 2020 saw an increase in reported gun violence across the Kurdistan Region, Sulaimani police spokesperson Sarkawt Ahmad told Rudaw English late November.
On November 22, a group of armed men, some dressed in Peshmerga uniform, attacked a Sulaimani restaurant owner over an alleged rent dispute with the landlord.
In a bid to decrease the number of guns in the hands of the public, the KRG in 2019 gave gun owners six months to register their firearms and give up their heavy weapons.
Despite the efforts, guns can easily be obtained at Kurdistan Region black markets.
Additional reporting by Horvan Rafaat
