MESOP NEWS : NEXT WAR A KURDISH WAR FOR SINJAR !?

U.S. says PKK in Iraq’s Sinjar major obstacle to IDPs return

28 Dec 2016 – reuters –  WASHINGTON,— The U.S. State Department on Tuesday called the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Sinjar in northwest Iraq a “major obstacle to reconciliation” and the return of displaced people.During a daily briefing, U.S. State Department Spokesman Mark said “We regard their presence there as a major obstacle to reconciliation, as well as to refugee return, to the return of internally displaced people.”Toner also expressed U.S. opposition to the PKK having a role in restoring stability in the Sinjar region, stating that the Iraqi government shared the same concern.

“We believe that the government shares our concern over restoring stability in Sinjar and oppose the PKK presence there,” he said. “And we urge all groups active in Sinjar to facilitate political reconciliation so that these IDPs, these internally displaced people, can return and that the communities that they were driven from can begin to rebuild.”

Iraqi Kurdistan ruling KDP party leaders have recently stepped up pressure on the PKK to leave the Sinjar (Shingal) area, saying that rehabilitation of the town is not possible as long as the PKK remains.

Toner said: “In terms of whether Baghdad supports the PKK – I mean, that’s something – that’s a question you’d have to ask the Government of Iraq. We believe that the government shares our concern over restoring stability in Sinjar and oppose the PKK presence there.”Toner’s comments come after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said that they “strongly believe that the PKK must leave Sinjar,” and the KRG may use military force to push the Kurdish group out of the area.The PKK-affiliated People’s Defense Forces (HPG) said no force would be able to push them out of Sinjar, one day after Turkish officials threatened to send the military to the district. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Tuesday the Turkish military could take matters in its own hands if Iraq’s KRG led by KDP party fails to drive the PKK out of Sinjar – www.mesop.de