Ankara ready to increase military action against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan
As Turkey expands its presence on the ground and the air, its forces are getting ready to undertake further operations against the PKK. Civilian areas on both sides of the border have been affected by "displacement and migration". In 2024, Turkish forces have carried out 833 attacks and bombardments, killing eight civilians.
Erbil (AsiaNews) – The border area between Turkey and Iraq is once again the target of Turkish military attacks and incursions. Turkish troops man checkpoints to stop and check Kurdish residents, especially in Iraqi Kurdistan, where the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is based according to Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A pro-government newspaper is reporting that Sulaymaniyah International Airport has been turned into a "logistics centre" for the PKK and Turkey is ready to strike it in case "such activities continue".
As Ankara boosts its military presence, the long-running conflict with the PKK could further escalate. Turkey deems the movement founded by Abdullah Öcalan a terrorist organisation.
Yeni Şafak, a newspaper known for reflecting Turkish government positions, reported that an imminent attack is planned for Sulaymaniyah International Airport, an important asset for the Kurdistan Regional Government.
According to the paper, the PKK is using the airport as a logistics centre, and both the United States and Iran use it to supply weapons to the group. If Turkey detects another shipment, the paper says, it will strike it.
The possibility of escalation is also being reported by Kurdish media. Rojnews, a Kurdish news outlet, recently published images that purportedly show a new deployment of Turkish troops in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Kurdish journalist Erdal Er, who spoke about developments on his YouTube channel, views such movements as "a sign of a much larger war to come.”
For the Kurdish analyst and journalist, civilian areas on both sides of the border are affected by military preparations, resulting in the “displacement and migration” of residents.
For him, war is very likely to intensify and expand, with Sulaymaniyah becoming a key target, linked to the balancing of air superiority in Turkey’s southern operations.
Last March the PKK announced that it had acquired weapons to counter Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), better known as drones, posting a video showing the downing of one.
Although the militant group did not name the weapons used, several reports suggest that they might be Iranian-made kamikaze drones.
In addition to air strikes, Turkey has set up more and more checkpoints in Iraqi Kurdistan, especially in Dohuk governorate, near the Turkish border, with serious inconvenience for the local population.
“When I was returning home, I was asked for my identification card at the checkpoint in Turkish, but I did not understand,” said a resident of Kani Masi, a village in Amedi district, Duhok, speaking to Rudaw on Monday on the condition of anonymity.
Residents are asked to show their papers, the source added, although some soldiers have told residents that they are not against them, but urged them nonetheless to carry their papers all the time.
Some figures also tell the story of Turkey’s offensive in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkish forces carried out at least “833 attacks and bombardments” in the region and Nineveh governorate so far this year, resulting in the death of eight civilians, this according to Kamaran Osman, a member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights group.
Erbil and Dohuk are the most affected areas with 365 and 356 operations respectively, followed by Sulaymaniyah with 102 and Sinjar, the heart of Yazidi territories in Nineveh province, with 10 attacks, notes the CPT, which monitors Turkey's operations in the Kurdistan Region.
Many families have been forced to flee, leaving entire villages empty. A 2020 study by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament reported at least 500 completely abandoned villages.
For the CPT, Turkey carried out 1,586 attacks in Kurdistan and Nineveh last year, part of an anti-PKK offensive it began in 2019. Called Operation Claw-Lock, the latter combines air raids and drone strikes with a presence on the ground of up to 10,000 troops, according to a Jamestown Foundation assessment.
This suggests that Turkey has shifted its military focus from its own territory to Kurdish areas in Iraq and Syria. To this end, the Turkish government has also made diplomatic efforts over the past year to gain the support of the Iraqi government in Baghdad.
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12/02/2022 17:33
