SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani condemned an attack which he said was carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) against the Kurdish forces in Duhok province.
Clashes erupted between a unit of Kurdish forces and PKK fighters in Amedi district in northeast of Duhok on Sunday night. A member of Kurdish forces was killed and three PKK fighters were wounded.
Kurdish authorities and the PKK accuse each other of the clashes. The KRG Ministry of Peshmerga said on Monday that Kurdish personnel was killed in a PKK attack on a checkpoint belonging to the Peshmerga forces.
The People’s Defense Forces (HPG), the military wing of the PKK, said in a statement on Monday that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) forces opened fire at two of its vehicles in Amedi, where it says its fighters have been moving around for years.
“I strongly condemn the PKK’s deadly attack on Peshmerga forces in Duhok yesterday,” the KRG premier said in a tweet late on Monday. “The group has now martyred three security personnel in recent months.”
Barzani also accused the PKK of exploiting peaceful demonstrators occurred in parts of the Kurdistan Region last week.
“Their behavior, including efforts to exploit peaceful protests, threatens regional stability,” Barzani added.
In a phone call with U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Joel Rayburn, Barzani called for “renewed efforts to remove Syrian Democratic Forces from PKK control and stop the group from exploiting foreign aid,” the KRG said in a statement.
