Iraq ‘condemns’ PKK attack on Peshmerga, vows to take measures: statement
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi government has condemned the attack on the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), calling it an “attack on Iraq’s sovereignty.” The incident left one Peshmerga martyred and two injured.
On Wednesday morning, a convoy of Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces came under attack by PKK militants in the Chamalke district in Duhok province following a roadside bomb that exploded next to the KRG forces. The attack resulted in one death and two injuries, the district’s mayor, Aland Amir, told Kurdistan 24.
“The Iraqi government condemns the attack by the PKK militants on the Peshmerga forces in Duhok province, resulting in causalities, including one martyr,” the statement from the government said on Thursday.
The Iraqi government’s statement comes as the militants, for the second time on the same day, launched another attack on a unit of KRG security forces, labeled Oil and Gas Police – tasked with protecting oil companies and sites. The attack left two policemen wounded.
Read More: New PKK attack injures 2 policemen in Kurdistan Region's Duhok: Source
The Iraqi government “strongly rejects such attacks as it is an attack on Iraq’s sovereignty,” the statement continued, vowing to take “measures that put an end to the attacks,” as they are a violation of the country’s security.
In parallel, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday immediately condemned the attack, labeling it an assault on the whole Kurdistan Region as the Peshmerga forces are the defenders of the region and its people.
The “KRG is against fratricide [Kurdish civil war],” the statement noted as it considered Wednesday’s attack “crossing a red line.”
Read More: PKK attack on Peshmerga ‘violation of Kurdistan Region’: KRG
The PKK take their stronghold in the rugged mountainous areas on the borders of Turkey, and from there they launch attacks inside Turkish territory, while Ankara responds by launching air, artillery, and ground attacks on those areas, which inflicts casualties among the civilians, many of whom fled and left hundreds of villages there empty.
Previously, Ghafour Ahmed, the mayor of Mergasur district, located in Erbil on the Kurdistan Region-Turkey border, told local media that “more than 65 villages in the district’s outskirts have been denied access to basic services…because of the PKK presence in the area.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany