PKK accuses Kurds and Turkish diplomats of spying

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Monday, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), through its media outlets, accused a group of people in the Kurdistan Region of "counter-guerilla" activities.

PKK claims they have identified several members of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Kurdistan Region "who were spying on PKK fighters deployed inside the Region." 

On Monday, photos of the ID cards and residency documents of six Turkish diplomats of the Turkish Consulate in Erbil and three Kurdish citizens were released by media outlets linked to the PKK.

The mentioned individuals are accused of spying on PKK fighters for intelligence agencies in both the Kurdistan Region and Turkey.

One of the people whose name is included in the PKK list, Polla Omar, is the Media Consultant at the Turkish Consulate in Erbil.

Omar condemned the release of the documents and his name and stated that “these are baseless accusations.”

Omer revealed that his group were on a mission to finish the process of opening Turkish Consulate in Sulaimani, and these documents were given to a hotel where the staff stayed overnight.

“How can a hotel give a photocopy of the documents to other people? Why should a Kurdish citizen who works in a foreign representative office in the Kurdistan Region be accused of spying?” Omar asked.

“Security forces should give clarifications and follow up on that,” Omar said.

PKK mentioned two other Kurds whom Omar said were drivers hired by the Turkish Consulate to accompany the delegation during the visit and had nothing to do with the Consulate.

In response to PKK’s accusations of KDP, Ali Awani, a member of the KDP Leadership Council, told Kurdistan24 that “KDP’s job is not gathering intelligence for other countries. Our members and supporters defend and protect the Kurdistan Region.”

“If PKK arrests our members, we will strongly react,” the KDP official said.