“Our forces did not carry out any unilateral attack on any of the Peshmerga bases and positions in the vicinity of Sihela. There is no reason for our units who are responsible to protect Rojava borders to attack security forces of Kurdistan Regional Government,” reads a statement issued by the General Command of the YPG on Thursday. “What happened was the result of a lack of communication and coordination between us and the relevant authorities and institutions in the Kurdistan Region.”
The KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga on Wednesday said eight fighters from the YPG – the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - attempted to cross the border near Sihela and enter the Kurdistan Region.
In their Thursday statement, the YPG said it respects the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s (KRI) autonomy, but called on the regional government “to abandon their aggressive and provocative stance and rhetoric towards AANES (Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria).”
The incident just comes amidst escalating tensions between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the KRG’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
A Peshmerga was killed in clashes with the PKK in Amedi, Duhok province three days ago.
SDF commander Mazloum Abdi claimed the KDP was the aggressor in the incident.
“The attack by KDP forces on PKK guerillas in Amedi is shameful and hurts the achievements of the Kurdish cause,” he wrote in a tweet.
Ankara considers the YPG to be the Syrian extension of the PKK, seen as a terrorist group in Turkey. The PKK has its bases in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil Mountains, and has fought the Turkish state for decades for greater rights for the country’s Kurdish minority.
The YPG, although ideologically inspired by PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, denies any links to the PKK.
Renewed clashes between Peshmerga forces and the PKK in Duhok province have worried locals and politicians alike, with some fearing the outbreak of civil war.
