Kurdistan Region borders ‘calmer’: Iraqi border forces spox

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tensions on the Kurdistan Region’s borders with Turkey and Iran have recently de-escalated, said a spokesperson for Iraq’s border forces on Tuesday. 

Turkish and Iranian forces often target Kurdish opposition fighters on the Kurdistan Region’s bordering areas, and these tensions had escalated late last year. Turkey has attacked the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on its borders with the Region for decades and Iran carried out several attacks against Iranian-Kurdish parties in Koya city in 2022. 

Both countries claim that these fighters pose a threat to their national securities. 

Karwan Khoshnaw, a spokesperson for Iraq’s border forces, told Rudaw on Tuesday that the situation is “calmer” on the border, partially contributing to freezing weather. 

He also said that their forces are using surveillance drones to monitor the developments on the borders, noting that “the Iraqi government has decided to send us necessary equipment.”

The border forces, mostly composed of Kurds, have been deployed to the Region’s bordering areas to prevent further advancement of Turkish and Iranian forces.