“We are monitoring the incidents today and the previous days on the border areas with concern. They [the incidents] have caused casualties and material losses to the civilians and villagers of these areas,” reads a statement released late Friday from KRG spokesperson Jutiar Adil, which also demanded that the PKK leave the Region’s territory.
Turkey launched an aerial and ground operation against the PKK this week in the Kurdistan Region, as well as areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. The operation has killed at least five civilians - including four in Duhok province and one in Erbil province.
“We call on the Republic of Turkey to respect the sovereignty of our land and homeland, and the PKK must leave these areas in order not to cause chaos on the Kurdistan Region’s bordering areas,” adds Adil.
Friday’s statement is the first official word from the KRG on Turkey’s latest offensive, which has also claimed the life of a Turkish soldier on Friday.
The Iraqi government has readily spoken out against Turkey’s latest offensive, summoning Turkey’s ambassador Fatih Yildiz twice this week in protest of what they call Turkish violations of Iraq’s “sanctity and sovereignty.”
The KRG “condemns anyone for any reason if they martyr and harm people,” reads the statement that does not explicitly condemn the Turkish offensive.
The statement also claims the KRG desires to have “friendly” relations with its neighbors, and does not want its territory to be used as a base to attack surrounding countries.
The Turkish Defense Ministry tweeted a video claiming it killed three PKK fighters in an airstrike on Friday.
Turkish defense minister, Hulusi Akar, and a number of other military commanders visited Sirnak province on Turkey's borders with the Kurdistan Region. He visited the families of three workers killed by roadside bomb allegedly placed by the PKK, according to a statement from the ministry.
"Currently, thousands of soldiers are on mountains and plains, chasing terrorists ... These traitors will account for treacherous attacks. They are all looking for holes to escape. I hope this work will be over,” said the minister to locals during his visit.
For decades, both the PKK and Turkish forces have set up military installations along the Turkey-Iraq border. The rough, mountainous region is home mostly to poor farmers who struggle to earn a living. These mountains are also home to an untold number of guerrillas of the PKK, who for years have used the Qandil Mountains area as a base of operations. Turkey regularly carries out air and ground attacks against the outlawed PKK, which it says maintains bases in northern Iraq.
Civilians have been repeatedly caught in the crosshairs of Turkey’s conflict with the PKK, and many have fled their villages under the roar of air strikes. Eight villages have been emptied of their residents along northern Iraq’s border with Turkey, near the Kurdistan Region border town of Zakho.
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