MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : HOW TO DEAL WTH PKK? SOUTH KURDISTAN – IRAQ
Ex-Chief of Staff Suggests Erbil-Baghdad Summit on PKK-Turkey Conflict
Basnews English 31/03/2019 – 17:35 Published in Kurdistan – ERBIL — Iraqi army’s former chief of staff has suggested a high summit to be held between Erbil and Baghdad to discuss the ongoing conflict between Turkey and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Iraq and Kurdistan territories.
For decades, the PKK has set up headquarters on Mount Qandil of Kurdistan Region. Turkey sees the Kurdish fighters a threat to its national security, and it often conducts ground or aerial operations to target the PKK positions.However, Turkish airstrikes have several times costed the lives of civilians in the border areas, with Erbil and Baghdad calling for an end to the conflict in the region.
Babakir Zebari, a Kurdish general who previously served as the chief of staff for the Iraqi army, told BasNews that Turkey has something to justify its attacks on Kurdistan border areas, that is the presence of the PKK which carries out attacks against the Turkish army from Kurdistan and Iraqi territories.
He noted that Erbil and Baghdad, directly or indirectly, are dragged into the conflict between Turkey and PKK. “This is not an easy issue… The PKK does not know borders,” Zebari added.
He pointed out that the issue differs when it comes to the PKK-affiliated fighters in Sinjar region. According to Zebari, they are under the command of Shi’ite militias of Hashd al-Shaabi and they enjoy financial support from the Iraqi government.
“There, the question is how to deal with them?”