ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s prime minister on Monday refrained from labeling the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) a terrorist organization, but said that armed groups like the PKK abused the security gap after the 2003 invasion to set up bases and launch attacks on neighbouring countries from Iraqi territory. "The situation that Iraq faced since 2003 – our fight against terror – led us to lose focus and control of our borders... And armed groups exploited this situation and began to threaten the security of neighboring countries, especially Turkey," Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani told journalists in Baghdad. While condemning the actions of the PKK, Sudani also lashed out at Turkey for repeatedly violating Iraqi sovereignty through air and drone strikes within the Kurdistan Region's borders. "These events that happen are definitely a violation of sovereignty, and we cannot give it any excuse," he stated. The PKK is a Kurdish group that has waged an armed insurgency against Turkey for decades and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, which has launched numerous operations against the group and its alleged offshoots in the Kurdistan Region and Syria. When asked by a journalist if Iraq would label the PKK a terrorist organization, Sudani said that "depends on legal contexts." "The Kurdistan Workers' Party has existed since the [19]80s in bases and they have [Iraqi] identity cards in the interior ministry. We are supposed to maintain our borders, not have them turned into bases and used for armed activities," he said. "This falls in line with terrorist activities that threaten the security of citizens and neighboring countries." Ankara's latest operation against the PKK, dubbed Claw-Sword, was an aerial campaign launched against the group on November 20 targeting positions in northern Syria and the Kurdistan Region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the time that the operation was a prelude to a ground offense. Claw-Sword followed Operation Claw-Lock, which was launched by Turkey in April last year with the goal of removing PKK fighters from the areas of Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan in northern Duhok province along the Turkish border in order to cut the PKK's access to Turkey. Turkey claimed that it has Baghdad’s support for Operation Claw-Lock, but Iraq’s foreign ministry said the operation was taking place without coordination with Iraq and Baghdad has demanded Turkish forces leave Iraqi territory. The Iraqi government has also repeatedly called on armed groups not to launch attacks on neighbours from within Iraq’s borders. "The Iraqi constitution is clear in that the government works to ensure that Iraqi lands do not become a launch pad for any group to threaten the security of neighboring countries," Sudani said on Monday. Several recent drone strikes have been blamed on Turkey. On Saturday, a drone strike on several villages in Sulaimani's Penjwen district killed at least two people and injured two others. On the same day, a Turkish warplane targeted the countryside around a village in Duhok province, speaking fear among residents. A drone strike on April 7 targeted a convoy of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) General Commander Mazloum Abdi in the vicinity of Sulaimani International Airport. US troops were also present among the SDF convoy. Iraq and the SDF have both blamed Turkey. Turkey considers the SDF and its backbone – the People's Protection Units (YPG) – as a Syrian front for the PKK and views the force as a terrorist organization. Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Many families have been forced to flee their homes in the Kurdistan Region's villages because of clashes, especially those in northern Duhok province near the border with Turkey, leaving entire villages empty. A Kurdistan Region parliamentary report published in 2020 said that the Turkey-PKK conflict has left over 500 villages empty across the Region.
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