Kurdistan Region parties condemn Turkish airstrikes in Shingal
Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan Region issued a joint statement on Tuesday holding Turkey responsible for the casualties caused by airstrikes on the Kurdish Yezidi (Ezidi) city of Shingal.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan Region issued a joint statement on Tuesday holding Turkey responsible for the casualties caused by airstrikes on the Kurdish Yezidi (Ezidi) city of Shingal.
The statement by the parliament factions of the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK), Gorran (Change) Movement, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG), and Kurdistan Islamic Movement (KIM) declared Turkish warplanes had “once again violated the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region.”
The statement added the warplanes “targeted bases of Peshmerga fighters and open civilian spaces in Shingal and its surrounding areas, leading to casualties among Peshmerga fighters.”
Early Tuesday morning, Turkish warplanes shelled Shingal Mountain, targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases and its local armed forces known as the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS).
The airstrikes killed five Peshmerga soldiers and injured nine others.
The statement by the four parties “strongly condemns” the airstrikes and holds the Turkish army responsible for the casualties, damages, and any ensuing tensions it created.
The factions also call on the United Nations and the international community to condemn and prevent Turkish airstrikes.
“These airstrikes contravene international laws,” the report read.
Moreover, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest and main ruling party in the Region, issued a statement expressing “strong concern” regarding the airstrikes targeting Peshmerga.
The KDP announcement also emphasized that “these attacks are unacceptable, even if it is by mistake.”
The KDP added the airstrikes were the result of “PKK presence and imposition in the Kurdistan Region.”
The party underscored the PKK was and is of no benefit to the Kurdistan Region, except for creating tension and preventing reconstruction.
“This is not the first time our people become the victims of PKK policies, leaving its areas and bringing their conflicts to the Kurdistan Region,” the KDP said in criticism of the PKK.
The statement reiterated the PKK and its affiliated groups should withdraw from Shingal and surrounding areas.
“If [PKK] care about the people in the area, they should allow the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to rebuild the area instead of drawing Turkish airstrikes to the region,” the party concluded.
Editing by G. H. Renaud and Karzan Sulaivany