Head of activist organization killed in Sulaimani shooting

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The head of an organization suspected to be affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was shot and wounded in Sulaimani on Tuesday evening, marking the second such attack against a member of the same group within the last year. He was confirmed dead from wounds inflicted in Tuesday's gun attack on Wednesday evening.

Unidentified individuals on a motorcycle fired at Deniz restaurant in Bakhtiyari neighborhood at least four times on Tuesday night, injuring Zaki Chalabi, the owner of the restaurant and head of the Mesopotamia Workers Organization.

The Mesopotamia Workers is an activist organization consisting of workers from the Kurdish areas of eastern Turkey (Bakur) in Sulaimani. Footage posted by local Kurdish media outlets depict the group participating in conferences and events condemning Turkish attacks on Shingal in 2018, and calling for the release of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Chalabi, the only one injured during the attack, underwent surgery at Sulaimani’s Shar hospital for the wounds he sustained in his stomach area from one of the bullets fired in the attack. Rudaw's Sulaimani reporter confirmed that Chalabi had died as a result of these wounds on Wednesday evening.

Rudaw English reached out to Sulaimani’s police and internal security forces (Asayish) for a comment, but they were not immediately available.

This is the second time a member of the organization has been shot in Sulaimani within the past year, according to PKK affiliated Rojnews. Farhad Barish Qondu was shot in the neck in Sulaimani’s Shakraka neighborhood in September, the publication said. 

“This is a political incident. Turkish intelligence has been following us for three years, pressuring and asking us to work for them. They threaten us to surrender,” Musa Khalid, the spokesperson of the organization told Rojnews following the incident. 

“This is the first attack, and if a stance is not taken, others will follow.”

The PKK is an armed Kurdish group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and named a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkish forces regularly pursue the PKK within the Kurdistan Region’s borders where the group has its headquarters.