ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — After the conclusion of Turkey’s seven-month-long Euphrates Shield Operation in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country’s armed forces may turn to Iraq in efforts to remove Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists from places like Shingal and Tal Afar.
"All these entities, namely YBS and so on, are all PKK armed forces. They all originate from PKK’s ideology. They are all PKK fighters. They think within the framework of PKK ideology," said Omed Sabah, spokesperson of the Kurdish presidency last month.
"Their behavior is driven by PKK ideology, too, and they take orders from the PKK. This is clear. Having a few members from Shingal does not legitimize them to stay there," he added.
“The PKK assists the Yezidis to create a self-defense force and administrative institutions,” read a statement from Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) in January, adding that “once the Yezidis have their own protection force and independent administration, then the PKK’s ambitions will be fulfilled in Shingal.”
Kurdistan Regional Government officials repeatedly have called on the group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Turkey, and the United States, to leave Shingal immediately and allow its people to determine who will provide security in the area.
The presence of the PKK in Kurdistan Region territory dates back to the 1980s. They boosted their military presence in the region after the 1991 uprising, which led to the creation of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of today. The PKK reinforced its positions especially in Qandil, Amedi, Zakho, and most recently in Shingal.
On March 3, clashes erupted between the KRG Rojava Peshmerga and the YBS in the Khanasoor area on the north side of Mount Shingal. Both sides accuse the other of opening fire first.
Speaking on Turkish TV, Erdogan said future operations will have “not [only] a Syrian dimension, [but] also an Iraqi dimension. There are the Tal Afar and Sinjar situations [in Iraq]. We also have kin in Mosul," referring to Turkmen.
The PKK’s main headquarters in the Kurdistan Region has been based in Qandil. They have also set up headquarters and checkpoints in the town of Shingal as well as the area of Kursi at the base of Mount Shingal. This is in addition to the forces they have created for the Yazidis in Shingal.
"There are around 2,500 PKK terrorists in the efforts to create this second Qandil," Erdogan said on Wednesday night, referring to Shingal, the Yezidi-dominant area about 55 kilometers from the Turkish border.
An official in the Kurdistan Region has stated the position of the presidency that the Shingal Protection Units (YBS) and the PKK are linked.
"All these entities, namely YBS and so on, are all PKK armed forces. They all originate from PKK’s ideology. They are all PKK fighters. They think within the framework of PKK ideology," said Omed Sabah, spokesperson of the Kurdish presidency last month.
"Their behavior is driven by PKK ideology, too, and they take orders from the PKK. This is clear. Having a few members from Shingal does not legitimize them to stay there," he added.
The PKK filled a power vacuum in Shingal after ISIS came in 2014.
“The PKK assists the Yezidis to create a self-defense force and administrative institutions,” read a statement from Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) in January, adding that “once the Yezidis have their own protection force and independent administration, then the PKK’s ambitions will be fulfilled in Shingal.”
Kurdistan Regional Government officials repeatedly have called on the group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Turkey, and the United States, to leave Shingal immediately and allow its people to determine who will provide security in the area.
The presence of the PKK in Kurdistan Region territory dates back to the 1980s. They boosted their military presence in the region after the 1991 uprising, which led to the creation of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of today. The PKK reinforced its positions especially in Qandil, Amedi, Zakho, and most recently in Shingal.
On March 3, clashes erupted between the KRG Rojava Peshmerga and the YBS in the Khanasoor area on the north side of Mount Shingal. Both sides accuse the other of opening fire first.
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