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Officials call on KDP to stop aiding Turkish armed forces, to prevent intra-Kurdish war

OFFICIALS in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq have urged the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) — the senior partner in the regional government — to stop aiding the Turkish armed forces and to prevent a deadly intra-Kurdish war.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organisation of Kurdish groups that includes the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), accused the KDP of declaring an “open war” on guerilla forces. 

It said that KDP peshmerga actions — which have included ambush attacks and surrounding guerilla bases — have been intended to hamper the PKK resistance, which has continued to battle the Turkish incursions after more than 100 days of war.

“The guerilla force resists these attacks, which are carried out by the second-largest army in Nato,” kitted out with advanced military and technological equipment, the statement said.

“This is the greatest struggle for their own dignity that has taken place in the history of the Kurdish people so far,” the KCK said.

Turkey launched its latest illegal invasion and occupation on April 23, with aerial bombardment and ground troops engaging in fierce fighting in the mountainous Duhok region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

More than 1,500 Kurdish civilians have been forced to flee their homes according to Christian Peacemaker Teams, which has been investigating on the ground.

Turkish forces have been accused of shipping in thousands of jihadists from Libya and Syria to join Operation Claw Lightning.

A Morning Star report into the alleged use of chemical weapons in tunnels used by PKK guerillas led to calls for a commission of inquiry in the Turkish parliament. Sources have claimed that similar attacks have subsequently taken place, although this has not been independently verified.

Great efforts have been made to avert a deadly intra-Kurdish war, with the Kurdistan Communist Party-Iraq mediating between the various regional political parties. 

It played a similar role in the mid-1990s when war broke out between the KDP and its rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the two largest parties in Iraqi Kurdistan.

KCK said the KDP actions “will have very negative consequences for the Kurdish people and will open the door to the occupation and genocide policies of the Turkish state, the leading force of hostilities against the Kurds.

“We expect the KDP to recognise this danger and refrain from these steps,” it said.

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