ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations Security Council on Monday condemned the recent attack on Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province, urging all member states to cooperate with Iraq in the investigation into the deadly bombardment.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack in Duhok province,” read a press statement from the council.
A tourist site in Duhok’s Zakho district was struck with artillery shelling on Wednesday, killing nine civilians, including children, and injuring 23 others. Baghdad and Erbil have attributed the attack to Turkey, but Ankara has denied the accusations on multiple occasions, blaming the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) instead.
The security council extended their condolences to the families affected by the attack, and reiterated their support for Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Iraqi foreign ministry on Tuesday said the security council’s statement is “the first of its kind in the context of a series of Turkish violations” on Iraqi territory.
The statement “supports Iraq’s position and sets procedures to consider the [Zakho] attack as one conducted on national sovereignty.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday denied Ankara’s involvement in the attack, accusing the PKK of being behind the shelling.
“This once again showed us the PKK's true face,” Turkish state media cited Erdogan as saying, adding that the attack was meant to disrupt the “positive development” between Ankara and Baghdad.
Iraq has filed an official complaint to the UN Security Council regarding Wednesday’s bombardment. The body is set to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to address the incident.
The UN on Friday called for a “prompt and thorough” investigation into the incident.
The Iraqi government has pursued a number of diplomatic steps to address the recent attack on its sovereignty, including handing a “strongly worded” protest note to Turkey’s ambassador to Iraq, as well as asking the neighboring country to issue an official apology and withdraw its forces from Iraqi land.
Ankara has established an increasing number of bases and outposts in the Kurdistan Region, claiming that its presence is aimed at cutting off the path of the PKK and preventing them from crossing into the Kurdish areas of southeast Turkey.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Ankara launched a military operation against the group in Duhok province in April, claiming to target PKK hideouts in the province’s mountainous areas.
Updated on July 26, at 10:16 am with the statement from foreign ministry
