SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Saturday condemned Turkish air strikes on the Kurdistan Region, urging the federal government to protect land and skies of Iraq and the Region.
Earlier, drone strikes on a vehicle in Tutaqal village in Aghjalar sub-district in northwest of Sulaimani killed five people including two villagers.
A source told Esta Media Network that there were three members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) among the dead.
In Makhmour in southwest of Erbil, another drone strike which targeted a vehicle inside Rostam Judi refugee camp wounded seven people, Esta Media Network has learned.
The camp was established in the 1990s when thousands of Kurds from Turkey crossed the border in a movement Ankara says was deliberately provoked by the PKK.
In a statement, the PUK Politburo expressed “deep concern” and condemned the strikes on Aghjalar and Makhmour.
“We call for the immediate halt to these attacks and we call on the Iraqi government to fulfill its constitutional and national duty in protecting Iraqi soil and skies, including the Kurdistan Region, and to warn the Turkish government of these violations through diplomatic channels,” it added.
It also called on the Kurdish government to summon the Turkish consul general in the Kurdistan Region and ask for explanations, according to the statement.
“There is no excuse for harming civilians due to the encroachment,” it said.
“The blood of our civilians is sacred and we call for the protection of our sacredness, and a return to dialogue and understanding is the key to resolve issues.”
