Statement from the Ministry of Interior regarding the PKK attacks on Peshmerga forces

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – In an attempt to destabilise the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region this past week, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has launched several attacks on the Peshmerga and Security Forces in the Kurdistan Region, resulting in martyring of six Peshmerga soldiers and the wounding of several others.

For many years, the PKK’s presence in the northern border regions of the Kurdistan Region and their ongoing clashes with Turkey has resulted in a rise in insecurity and forced thousands of residents from hundreds of villages to flee their homes and lose their livelihoods.

The PKK has also continuously meddled with the internal affairs of the Kurdistan Region, and caused chaos and unrest in the region. Recently, as part of their anti-KRG agenda, the PKK has persuaded several European citizens to come to the Kurdistan Region under the guise of peace and freedom and use them as an instrument of sabotage to undermine the stability of the region.

The security and stability of the Kurdistan Region is a red line that we will not allow to be crossed, regardless of the justification or the group’s name.

We call on these groups, who reportedly operate under the name of peace and freedom, to not allow themselves to be used for harmful purposes. If peace and freedom is indeed what they wish to see in the region, then they should look toward the Qandil Mountains, where the real source of aggression and instability is located. These groups should urge the PKK to stop meddling with the affairs of the KRG and put an end to their hostilities toward the innocent residents of the Kurdistan Region.

Ministry of Interior

Kurdistan Regional Government