SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said on Sunday the incident in Mount Metina where five members of the Peshmerga forces were killed was “tragic”, calling on all sides to act responsibly.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Peshmerga said the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ambushed a unit of the Kurdish forces in Mount Metina in Amedi district, killing five Peshmerga and wounding seven others.
However, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the PKK military wing, said it had no information how the Peshmerga vehicle was attacked.
“The incident in Mount Metina was a tragic event that caused concern and enthusiasm for all sincere and patriotic Kurds,” Talabani said in a statement.
“Our people have suffered a lot in the past because of the conflict between the Kurdish parties, so it is not right to make this suffered nation be more worried,” he added.
Talabani further said the current situation “requires all of us to act responsibly in our speeches, actions and attitudes, and in this situation, we need unity, careful thinking and patience more so that the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdish nation will be protected from those dangers”.
“The product of our past conflicts has only been failure and disappointment for our people, and we still pay for war and the conflicts of our past,” he stated.
“If we continue at this stage on the deadly mistakes of the past, the result will undoubtedly be greater failure and disappointment for all Kurds,” he continued.
“Now, we are all in the face of a great responsibility and our efforts must be towards the direction of solution, not complicating the situation. Let’s solve the problems wisely, caringly, responsibly and in a Kurdish way.”
The Region’s deputy premier hoped all sides act wisely and intelligently to prevent the repetition of another tragic incident.
The ministry of Peshmerga said the PKK fighters had used light and heavy weapons in the attack.
The KRG also said in a tweet that the PKK fighters “ambushed and attacked” a unit of the Peshmerga forces on Mount Metina in Amedi district, northeast of Duhok.
The PKK military wing said its fighters only fired into air as a warning when the Peshmerga forces entered “our forces’ camp in Metina region.”
“But they did not listen to the warning and continued to move forward,” the HPG said.
The attack was condemned by the Kurdish prime minister, the Kurdistan Region’s presidency, the Iraqi presidency, and the U.S. embassy to Iraq.
