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Turkey attacks the PKK again in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey should also receive support from Shiite militias and the Kurdish autonomous administration.
Baghdad – The Turkish army has launched a new military offensive in northern Iraq. Kurdish PKK positions have been under attack in the Metina region since Sunday. Preparations for this have been going on for months. For this reason, there were repeated meetings with the government of the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq in Erbil and representatives of the central government in Erbil.
This time the Turkish military's military offensive in its neighboring country is expected to be larger. “As I have always said, now comes 'the mother of operations against the PKK,' writes Abdulkadir Selvi in his column in the pro-government newspaper Hurriyet. “The concept of this operation will be different. Because we plan to carry out this operation together with the central government of Baghdad, the administration of Erbil and Hashd al-Shaabi.” This means that the PKK should be next to the Türkiye are also attacked by the troops of the autonomous region of Kurdistan in Iraq and the Shiite militia Hashd al-Shaabi, which is supported by the central government in Baghdad. Selvi is known for announcing the plans of President Erdogan and his government.
Erdogan on a state visit to Baghdad
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also traveled to Iraq today. On his first visit to the neighboring country since 2011, the focus would be on discussions on “investment, trade, security aspects of cooperation between the two countries, water management and water resources,” said Farhad Alaaldin, foreign policy advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the news agency AFP. Accordingly, several bilateral declarations of intent are to be signed. The situation surrounding the Gaza war was also on the agenda.
Türkiye wants a joint military operations center with Iraq
The military operation against Kurdish PKK was also an issue between both sides. Turkey wants a “joint operations center,” Zeki Akturk, a spokesman for the Turkish Defense Ministry, said at a news conference on Sunday. There could be an agreement on this soon. “One of the points we want to include in this document is the establishment of a joint operations center. The technical details for the operation of this operations center will be determined after the signature of this document”. Baghdad now also sees the PKK as a danger.
And Erdogan also confirmed that. “We welcomed the declaration of the PKK as a banned organization in Iraq and discussed joint steps against the terrorist organization PKK and its attacks on Turkey from Iraqi territory,” Erdogan confirmed at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.
“Kurdish question can only be solved through negotiations”
Human rights organizations are watching Developments of increasing concern. “Turkish officers and intelligence officers were already in Iraq and Kurdistan before the visit. The aim is a large-scale joint campaign against the PKK,” says the Middle East representative of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), Dr. Kamal Sido, in conversation with Fr.de from IPPEN.MEDIA. “The population and nature in Kurdistan will especially suffer from this campaign. The Kurdish and Kurdistan question, like other political conflicts, will not and cannot be resolved militarily, but only through negotiations. That’s why the guns must fall silent and negotiations must begin.”
People in northeast Syria (Kurdish: Rojava) are also worried that they too will be attacked. “At the moment the situation here is relatively stable, but the region is on heightened alert. People are afraid that Turkey will also attack targets in northeast Syria. “It was only on Saturday that Turkey attacked an oil field near Tirbespiye,” said Anita Starosta, consultant for Syria, Turkey and Iraq at the aid organization Medico International. In the past the Türkiye massively attacked the region from the air and with artillery.
Erdogan needs success reports after defeat in local elections
Erdogan and his ACP After winning the parliamentary and presidential elections in May 2023, they suffered a defeat in the local elections this year. Erdogan has not yet been able to get the economic crisis that has been going on for years under control. With successes against the PKK, the powerful man from Ankara could distract from the massive problems in his country. (erpe)
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