SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Commander-in-chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi announced Saturday the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) national stances have bothered Turkey.
The Commander’s words came after a suspected Turkish drone attack that struck Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani International Airport’s periphery.
The attack did not cause any harm, Sulaimani authorities confirmed.
The SDF chief in a tweet strongly denounced the attack by Turkey, adding “Turkey is bothered by the PUK national stance to support the brothers in Syria’s Rojava.”
He also stressed that the Rojava and the SDF will definitely endure relations with the brothers in Sulaimani and the global anti-ISIS Coalition, and expressed solidarity, according to the tweet.
“We are in one front against that violation,” he said.
Moreover, the SDF chief’s words are within a tweet in which he quoted PUK President Bafel Talabani’s statement regarding the drone attack.
ندين بشدة استهداف مطار السليمانية من قبل تركيا، هذه الانتهاكات مستمرة في العراق وسوريا ولها أبعاد خطيرة ضد المنطقة.
موقف الاتحاد الوطني القومي المساند لأشقائه في سوريا يزعج تركيا.
سنستمر في علاقاتنا المبدئية مع أشقائنا وحلفائنا في السليمانية وإننا في صف واحد ضد هذه الانتهاكات. https://t.co/C5bf5kbHHT— Mazloum Abdî مظلوم عبدي (@MazloumAbdi) April 8, 2023
The attack also coincided with Turkey’s airspace embargo on Sulalimani over the alleged intensification of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) activities in the governorate.
Ankara’s embargo is based on allegations that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the dominant party in Sulaimani province, supports the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the province, allowing it to operate freely.
The PKK is a Kurdish group fighting for broader rights in Turkey which Ankara, the United States, and the European Union have designated a “terrorist” organization.
