Turkey wants to damage SDF ties with Kurdistan Region partners: Commander

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The general commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday blamed Turkey for the attack on Sulaimani airport, adding that Ankara is seeking to damage ties with the forces’ partners in the Kurdistan Region.  

In a video statement, Mazloum Abdi stated that the upcoming elections in Turkey were also a driving force behind an alleged Turkish drone attack on the Kurdish city’s airport on Friday. 

“The Turkish state is not satisfied with our fight against ISIS with our allies and would do anything to damage and create obstacles in front of it,” Abdi said, adding that Turkey does not approve of the SDF’s growing relations with key political figures in the neighboring Kurdistan Region. 

“They try to win the elections at the expense of the Kurdish blood, targeting the Kurds, and use it as a card in the election campaign,” Abdi said, blaming the drone attack on Ankara as a pre-election tactic by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to gain popularity. 

The commander stated that in fact Turkey did not succeed in “achieving their goal,” arguing that the events of the weekend sparked outrage and disapproval. 

An explosion occurred in the vicinity of Sulaimani International Airport on Friday afternoon, which was said to have targeted Abdi as he was returning to northeast Syria (Rojava). 

Bafel Talabani, head of Sulaimani’s ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) issued a statement condemning the attack and “inappropriate acts” of some political parties. “Destroying the peace of the region and the city of Sulaimani is a red line,” he stated.

US Department of Defence Spokesperson Philip Ventura told Rudaw in an email early Saturday that an American convoy was struck in Sulaimani city. “We can confirm there was a strike on a convoy Friday in Sulaymaniyah that included U.S. military personnel. Fortunately, we can also confirm there were no casualties,” Ventura said, adding that an investigation is underway. He did not mention Abdi nor did he speculate who carried out the strike.

The attack was followed by statements from Kurdish and Iraqi officials, with the Iraqi Presidency blaming Turkey for the attacks and asked them to issue a public apology.

“We call on the Turkish government to take responsibility, to offer an official apology for these actions, to stop these attacks, and to solve their internal problems by opening the channels of dialogue with the concerned parties,” read the presidency’s statement.

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) condemned the attack on Sulaimani airport on Twitter and called for such attacks to be prevented. 

"We condemn the attack on Sulaimani airport. Attacks on the people and land of South Kurdistan [Kurdistan Region] are targeting the stability of the region and increase tensions,” the statement read.

“The United Nations, the Government of Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government must prevent such attacks." HDP tweeted.
Despite all the fingers pointed at them, Ankara is yet to respond to the claims officially; however, a Turkish Defense Ministry source told AFP that Turkey undertook no such activity.

The strike comes a few days after Turkey imposed a three-month flight ban on Sulaimani’s airport in response to accusations by the Turkish foreign ministry that the airport was being used for “infiltration” by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

The ban is believed to be related to a helicopter crash in Duhok province on March 15, killing nine anti-terrorism forces affiliated with the US-backed SDF, including a close relative of Abdi, who was traveling to Sulaimani. Ankara accuses the SDF’s backbone, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being the Syrian wing of the PKK.

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