Kurdistan Region PM strongly condemns YPG attack against Peshmerga
“The YPG cannot be allowed to exploit foreign assistance to launch attacks on our territory.”
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday condemned the Syrian People's Protection Units (YPG) attack on Peshmerga forces under his control at the border with Syria, urging that the US-led Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State not to allow armed groups with which it partners to commit hostile actions against other allies.
In a statement, he explained that, when a group of YPG fighters had attempted to cross the northeastern Syrian border and enter the Kurdistan Region the night before, “they were denied access entry by our security forces,” as the act is a clear violation of the region’s law and the border protection regulations.
The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces then successfully blocked an attack on Wednesday at dawn from the YPG when its fighters attempted to again cross into the region, the Ministry of Peshmerga said in a press conference.
Read More: YPG launches attacks against Peshmerga forces: Ministry of Peshmerga
“A large group of YPG fighters attacked a local Peshmerga base, using heavy weaponry. Fortunately, our brave Peshmerga forces responded swiftly, repelled the YPG fighters, and foiled the attack,” Barzani added according to a previous statement.
Barzani stressed that this attack is a clear and legal violation of the territories of the Kurdistan Region and the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Barzani called on “our friends and partners in the Global Coalition to ensure that the YPG does not repeat this act of aggression.”
“The YPG cannot be allowed to exploit foreign assistance to launch attacks on our territory,” pointing out that the repetition of such an attack would “undoubtedly harm” security in the greater region.
Barzani expressed his appreciation to Peshmerga forces, which he called “heroes who put their lives at risk on a daily basis.”
On Monday, the prime minister also charged that the actions of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), particularly what he said were recent attempts to exploit peaceful demonstrations in the Kurdistan Region, “constitute a threat to regional stability.”
The PKK is engaged in a decades-long conflict with Ankara over Kurdish rights in Turkey.
This latest development comes after a group of PKK fighters on Monday in Duhok province attacked a Peshmerga checkpoint, killing one of its fighters.
Read More: Peshmerga officer martyred as PKK launches new attack against Kurdistan Region forces
The protests have been in response to delays in salary payments of Kurdistan Region government employees that come after critical budget disputes between Baghdad and Erbil and which have been exacerbated by the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read More: PM Barzani: PKK threatening regional stability; domination of SDF must end
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, during a Wednesday meeting of the National Security Council, praised “the courageous response to the YPG attack by the Peshmerga forces supported by the Federal Armed Forces,” according to a statement released by his office.
“Prime Minister Kadhimi directed that all necessary legal measures be taken through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and through diplomatic channels to prevent the recurrence of such violations.”
Editing by John J. Catherine