MESOP FOCUS : INSTABILITY IN TALABANI TOWN – US Concerned about Situation in Sulaymaniyah / South Kurdistan – Iraq

A US delegation visited the authorities in control of Sulaymaniyah to discuss the unstable situation – 27 Sept 2016 – Hemin Salih – BasNews –  US Concerned about Situation in Sulaymaniyah.-  ERBIL — A US delegation has recently met with officials from the both conflicting factions of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Sulaymaniyah province to discuss party’s internal disputes as well as the volatile situation in the areas under PUK’s control which has concerned the US.

According to an informed source, the delegation has met with both PUK conflicting factions separately and made it clear that they should play their roles to settle the situation.The US delegation has explained to the Sulaymaniyah officials that the US supports the unity and stability of the Kurdistan Region and the top priorities of all sides should be defeating Islamic State (IS) for the moment. The source also revealed that Qubad Talabani, the Deputy PM of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), from the PUK’s influential faction, met with the security officials of Sulaymaniyah after he had a discussion with the US ambassador on the phone before his visit to the area.

A statement of PUK’s influential faction, led by Hero Ibrahim, the wife of PUK’s secretary general, said that the US delegation has asked them to play their role in settling the tensed political situation in the Kurdistan Region.

Earlier on September 1st, PUK secretary-general deputies, backed by a number of leading members, announced the formation of the ‘decision-making body’ within the party, aiming to put an end to the growing influence — or as they said the “monopoly” of authority and financial resources — of Hero Ibrahim, the spouse of secretary-general Jalal Talabani. The formation of the ‘decision-making body’ by the PUK secretary-general deputies has divided the party into two conflicting factions, and the Iranian delegations as well as Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) delegation have visited the factions several times to reaffirm their support for the influential faction, asking the ‘decision-making body’ to withdraw their decision. www.mesop.de