PUK, PKK cooperation threatens security and stability in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

The PUK, one of the two leading powerful parties in the Iraqi Kurdish region, opens up space in urban and rural areas in Sulaymaniyah and its surroundings for the PKK/YPG terror group, as the terrorists disrupt the stability, security, and economic development of the region.

According to an announcement by the Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Masrour Barzani in Feb. 2021, due to PKK's occupation of mountains and settlements in the region, the reconstruction of 800 villages could not be completed, and the terrorist organization also prevents farmers from accessing their lands.

The terrorist organization operates so-called political parties and NGOs such as Tevgera Azadi, PYD, RJAK, and the Kurdish Women's Research-Archive Library and Academy Center in the urban center of Sulaymaniyah.

The terrorist organization, which sets up so-called checkpoints in rural areas of Sulaymaniyah, obstructs the transportation of people, extorts citizens, and engages in kidnapping civilians.

It is also alleged that the PUK issues identity cards used by its affiliated counter-terrorism unit to members of the terrorist organization, thus allowing terrorists to gain a certain degree of freedom in the region.

In the connection between the structure of the PKK in the Qandil Mountains on the Iraq-Iran border and its extensions in Syria, the patronage of the PUK serves as a strategic bridge.

While the PUK provides military training to members of PKK coming from northern Syria, the Sulaymaniyah region is used as a route for Shiite militia groups crossing into Syria.

Helicopter crash in Duhok revealed collaboration between PUK, PKK

The extent of cooperation between the PUK and PKK was revealed when nine PKK terrorists emerged from two helicopters that crashed in Duhok on March 15, 2023, and also when PUK leader Bafel Talabani sent Wahab Halabjay, the unity's anti-terrorism commander, to attend the funeral of terrorists in northern Syria on March 22.

The repeated visits of PKK/YPG leader Mazlum Kobane, code-named Ferhat Abdi Sahin, to Sulaymaniyah, and similarly, the images of Bafel Talabani giving "unity" messages in terrorist nests in northern Syria, have also been etched in the public's memory.

Bafel Talabani's invitation of Cemil Bayik and Mazlum Kobane, leaders of PKK/YPG, to the meeting he organized with Kurdish political parties in the Dokan district of Sulaymaniyah on Nov.23, 2022, and the reading of messages sent by terrorists at the meeting, was anot her example highlighting the PUK-PKK collaboration.

While the PUK seeks international legitimacy under the name of "joint struggle with Daesh" for its cooperation with the PKK, the terrorist group continues to benefit from the facilities provided by the PUK for arms and logistics shipments from Sulaymaniyah Airport to northern Syria.

PKK activities in Sulaymaniyah

Members of the terrorist organization carry out terrorist acts, such as burning political party buildings in Sulaymaniyah and its surroundings that are under PUK control.

The local press also reported that PKK terrorists planned to seize many points in the region between July 8-20, 2021.

The unit established by the PKK under the name of "Young Warrior Women and Patriotic Youth" carried out its first action by setting fields on fire in the Ranya district of Sulaymaniyah on Aug.16, 2023.

Hiwa Gaylani, Ranya Responsible for KDP, emphasized the terrorist organization's intention to "bring chaos and war to the region" with this unit, stressing the need to prevent the terrorist structure from endangering the security of northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

According to Dilshad Reshid Mella, a member of the Goran Movement General Administrative Board, the organization established by the PKK on Aug. 2, 2023, included Iraqi terrorists from Qandil, Germiyan, and Sulaymaniyah regions in its structure.

Reshid Mella associates the organization's terrorist activities with the assassination of Peshmerga commander Mohammad Mirza in Zakho on July 23, 2023, and the killing of diplomat Osman Kose, who served at the Turkish Consulate General in Erbil.

The PKK opened a so-called place, "Kurdish Women's Research-Archive Library and Academy Center," in Sulaymaniyah on Aug. 7, 2023.

In Aug.2023, Ali Avni, Duhok, Responsible for KDP, said that PKK terrorists could start setting up security points in the near future and start asking for identification from PUK executives and other political party officials.

According to Avni, PKK terrorists, who opened up space for themselves in Ranya and Qaladize districts of Sulaymaniyah, are also active in areas such as Agcalar and Ahmedava.

PKK's presence in region undermines economy of Sulaymaniyah

Following the opening of the PKK's activity area in Sulaymaniyah, Türkiye's decision to close its airspace to flights to the region adversely affected the region's economy.

Sulaymaniyah Airport, which provides employment to thousands of people and where 12 airlines operate flights, has lost its "international" status due to Türkiye's airspace ban.

As a result of the loss of functionality of Sulaymaniyah Airport, approximately 200 companies have reduced their operations to a minimum, and many have come to the brink of bankruptcy. The region's residents continue to turn to Erbil Airport for international flights.