SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the issue between Turkey and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was “exported” to the Kurdistan Region.
Turkey has launched a new ground and air defensive against the PKK fighters in Duhok province, starting from Friday.
The Turkish army has set up three new military points in Amedi district, according to Esta’s reporter. Turkish media reported that commando forces landed in the Metina region from helicopters.
Besides troop deployment, Turkish warplanes launched airstrikes against areas where suspected PKK positions are thought to be present.
“This is a problem between PKK and Turkey. This is not an Iraqi problem,” Barzani said in an interview with Al Jazeera aired on Tuesday. “it was exported to us, especially during the time we were fighting ISIS.”
He referred to Islamic State (ISIS) militants, which overran large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014.
The Kurdish premier said the PKK had taken advantage of the situation and expanded its influence in those areas after the Region’s forces were deployed to fight ISIS in the other areas.
“About 800 villages are still unbuilt and we have not been able to reconstruct them,’ he noted.
“Many of our civilians were unable to return to their villages because of the ongoing conflicts between Turkey and PKK,” he said.
“PKK should not be here, should not present themselves as alternatives,” he added. “Unfortunately, during this ongoing fight with Turkey, the area has not been safe for many villagers who want to return to their areas.”
Regarding ties between Erbil and Ankara, Barzani said the Kurdistan Region had a normal relationship with Turkey.
“The Kurds are not all PKK. So the Turkish-Kurdish relationship cannot be limited to the Turkish-PKK relationship. Turkey has a problem with the PKK. It does not have problem with other Kurds. We have a good relationship [with Turkey] … We have a normal relationship with Turkey,” he noted.
