Agit Garzan, 45, joined the PKK in 1993 and rose through the organization to become a top-ranking commander, leading the armed group in the Khakurk area of Erbil province’s border with Turkey. He was part of a delegation that met with Iraqi border guards on Tuesday to resolve tensions after the PKK opened fire on the guards.
Iraqi border guards, mostly made up of Kurds, wanted to set up bases in the Sidakan area, to the south of Khakurk. The PKK, which has been in the area for decades, resisted the Iraqi expansion and shots were fired on Monday evening, without any casualties. The two sides arranged a meeting for the following day, but it was targeted by a Turkish drone. Two senior border guards and one soldier were killed, as was Garzan.
Garzan, whose real name was Murat Kalko, was born in Turkey’s northeastern province of Kars in 1975. “I was from a poor family as were other Kurdish families,” he said in a video published by the PKK-affiliated Firat News Agency (ANF).
“When I first came to the mountains, it was very important because it was a sort of enjoyment for us as youths,” he said in the undated video. He added that he suffered a lot in the ranks of the PKK, especially in the nineties because of constant clashes with Turkish forces, but claimed it was worth it as it served Kurds.
He first fought for the PKK in his southeastern Turkey, but was later moved to the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan Region where he was based for 18 years. The PKK described him as a “legend.”
“In the 27 years of his guerrilla life he participated in countless actions and was injured several times. Nevertheless, he never left the freedom mountains for a moment,” read a statement from the PKK on his death.
The Iraqi government condemned the drone attack, summoning Ankara’s ambassador and demanding Turkey cease its bombardment and withdraw its troops from the country.
More border guards have been deployed to the area.
France’s foreign ministry also condemned the attack, saying it “is deeply attached to full respect for Iraqi sovereignty.”
The PKK is a Kurdish group fighting for increased rights for the Kurdish minority in Turkey, and is designated a terrorist group by Ankara and its allies. It has been in conflict with the Turkish state for decades. Turkey launched new operations against the group in the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories of Iraq in mid-June. Air offensive Operation Claw-Eagle began on June 15, with a ground offensive, dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger, beginning two days later.
Ankara demanded Baghdad take measures against the PKK and “assume a principled stance against terrorism.”
Seven civilians have been killed and many injured in Turkish airstrikes since mid-June.
