Hashd al-Shaabi Spokesperson: Turkish airstrike violation of Iraq’s sovereignty

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – In an interview with Kurdistan24, Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi denounced the attacks in the Shingal (Sinjar) area as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday in an unusually intense operation, killing six Peshmerga fighters and wounding eight, some critically.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Hashd al-Shaabi spokesperson Ahmed al-Assadi also condemned the presence of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Shingal, saying that according to the Iraqi Constitution no foreign troops are allowed to settle in Iraq and pose threat to the neighboring countries.

Assadi added that killing the Peshmerga was unfortunate since, along with Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi army, they are part of the Iraqi defense system.

"An attack on Peshmerga or other forces is an attack on the Iraqi sovereignty," he emphasized.

On April 25, Recep Tayyib Erdogan, Turkish President and Binali Yildirim Turkish PM contacted the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani and expressed their condolences to the families of the six Peshmerga fighters who lost their lives as a result of Turkish air strikes on the positions of PKK in Shingal, said Kurdistan Region Presidency.

Airstrikes on Kurdish positions in the nearby northeastern Syria killed 28 US-allied People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters as of Wednesday and wounded 19 others, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister of Peshmerga Affairs on Wednesday summoned the Turkish Consul General in Erbil over “unacceptable” Turkish airstrikes that targeted Peshmerga forces in Shingal.

Acting Minister of Peshmerga Karim Sinajri in a statement said that the airstrike against Peshmerga forces were unacceptable, emphasizing that such airstrikes must not be repeated.

Mehmet Akif Inam, the Turkish Consul General in Erbil expressed Turkey’s concern over the “mistaken” airstrike and sent condolences to the families of the Peshmerga martyrs and expressed Turkey’s readiness to receive the wounded Peshmerga fighters in its hospitals.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu defended the legitimacy of airstrikes on Kurds.

Cavusoglu said his country informed the US-led Coalition forces’ coordination center in Qatar “two hours” before the massive assault which the Turkish army claimed killed 70 Kurdish fighters in both Syria and Iraq.

Editing by Ava Homa