Türkiye Asserts it Would Continue its Operations in Sulaymaniyah, Northern Iraq, Syria

Arab World

April 12th, 6:49am

Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek

A demonstration in Sulaymaniyah against the bombing at the city's airport in Iraqi Kurdistan (AFP)

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed that his country would continue its operations in Sulaymaniyah, under the control of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in the first official response to the drone attack against Sulaymaniyah International Airport last Friday. In this regard, Cavusoglu said Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Talabani's party: "According to our information, the helicopters used by the terrorists were purchased by the PUK … from France and were allocated to the terrorists for their use." Cavusoglu noted, in a television interview, that the US has controlled the air space of the region, so they are aware of all flights, adding that Türkiye has always said that the US and some European countries support the PKK and People's Defense Units (YPG), the largest components of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Cavusoglu said that the PKK now controls the Sulaymaniyah, namely Talabani's party, adding that they entered strategic points and airports in the city. He warned that their disagreements and tensions would negatively impact everyone, adding that Ankara would not interfere in their domestic affairs. "They use civilian airports used by everyone. The PKK has penetrated [civilian airports]. The PKK has taken control of everyone in Sulaimaniyah and especially Talabani's party," he said. The FM noted they could not enter Erbil, so they constantly used different methods to weaken the city. The US-backed SDF announced last Saturday that its commander-in-chief, Mazloum Abdi, and members of the US forces were at the Sulaymaniyah airport when a drone attack, attributed to Türkiye, targeted it on Friday. Cavusoglu asserted that PUK members had admitted that "the PKK totally controls the PUK." He added that the Turkish military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq and the operations against the SDF in Syria would continue until achieving their goals.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4268291/t%C3%BCrkiye-asserts-it-would-continue-its-operations-sulaymaniyah-northern-iraq