ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Renewed clashes between Peshmerga forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Duhok province have worried locals and politicians alike, with some fearing the outbreak of civil war.
"This fight has caused a lot of fear among the people of the area, and we hope [it] will be put to a stop," local resident Hersh Waleed told Rudaw's Ayub Nasri.
"The attack has had a bad effect on the people in the villages of Duhok and they are not going to their land for fear of war," he added.
One Peshmerga fighter was killed and two were injured in an IED attack in Chamanke on Wednesday. The attack claimed by the PKK, an armed group fighting for increased rights for Turkey’s Kurdish minority, which has bases in the Kurdistan Region.
"After we were taken into another car to be taken to medical care, they started shooting at our car, the first bullet tore down our glass, and the second hit my door," one of the injured, Taib Abdullah, told Rudaw on Thursday.
The People's Defense Forces (HPG) – the PKK’s military wing - released a statement on Wednesday claiming that they had not fired at Peshmerga forces.
"Despite the fact that we had warned them, the KDP forces tried to enter our camps through military vehicles in Babade village. Despite this attempted attack, our forces did not fight and did not use weapons," read a HPG statement published by PKK-affiliated Roj News.
However, Peshmerga officials claim otherwise.
Brigadier Babakir Faqe Ahmad, the head of Peshmerga Ministry's media and culture directorate, told the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) official media that while the PKK did fire, it was from a distance and was not directed at them.
"After the PKK manually exploded their IEDs on our cars, they started shooting at us with PK machine guns, and then shot an RPG our way," Brigadier Hassan Nouri told Rudaw.
"If you do not believe us, you can come and look at the cars," he added. "The cars were not military Humvees and were normal pickup trucks. If we had known we would get into a fight, we would have taken military trucks."
The Kurdistan Region Presidency has condemned the act and called for solution “away from civil war.”
"At a time when the Kurdistan Region is struggling with multiple crises and problems, this provocation by the PKK will only cause more trouble for the Region and our nation, and no one comes out of it a winner," read a Wednesday statement.
"As always, we insist that the PKK needs to respect the constitutional entity of the Kurdistan Region along with its government and institutions, and stay away from causing trouble in Kurdistan."
Kurdistan Parliament Speaker Rewaz Faiaq has called on parliament to take on a mediatory role between the two parties and promote peace.
"The Kurdistan Regional Parliament, as a representative of the people of Kurdistan, condemns and shames any form of civil war and considers dialogue a priority. For that reason, it must take responsibility to initiate peace and create ground for mutual understanding away from civil war," she said on Wednesday.
The attack has also been condemned by the Iraqi parliament’s presidency.
KDP leader Masoud Barzani released a statement on Monday, accusing the PKK of “invading” the Kurdistan Region while the Peshmerga were fighting the Islamic State (ISIS).
"PKK fighters invaded these border areas and then some others instead of supporting the experience of the Kurdistan Region," referring to areas in Nineveh province and villages on the Kurdistan Region's border with Turkey.
