PKK unaware of KRG pipeline sabotage

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) spokesperson announced on Wednesday that they are not responsible for sabotaging the Kurdistan-Ceyhan oil pipeline last week.

Demhat Agid released a statement on Wednesday, claiming that KCK nor PKK damaged the pipeline. KCK is politically affiliated with the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).  

Agid criticized Kurdistan Region oil and gas exports to Turkey, saying that “it is not in the interest of the Kurds." 

A statement released by KRG Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) on Feb. 18 condemned the damage to the oil pipeline, without explicitly blaming any party.

However, last July PKK claimed its forces sabotaged the pipeline in the area between Silopi and Cizre, where the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline transports oil from Kurdistan Region.

Rebaz Berkoty, a member of the Erbil Provincial Council from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc told K24 on Tuesday, “In the name of the Erbil Provincial Council and people of Erbil, we call upon PKK to stop their interference in the Region’s affairs...this will not serve any side [and] it does not help the peace process and our brotherhood.”

Previously, the KCK spokesperson told a Kurdish news outlet that they firmly stand against Kurdistan Region's oil exports to Turkey.

In response, KRG Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, announced in a press conference, “This [oil export] is a domestic matter of the Kurdistan Region… PKK should not interfere in the Region’s affairs. It is neither in their interest nor necessary, and this behavior is not acceptable.”

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran

Editing by Ava Homa and Benjamin Kweskin