PKK's occupation of 800 villages in northern Iraq threatens regional stability

By Anadolu Staff

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - The PKK terror organization holds 800 villages in northern Iraq under its occupation, according to information Anadolu compiled from open sources.

The terror group, which often hides out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye, has been expanding the area it occupies in the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) each year, amounting to 515 villages in 2015 to 650 in 2016 and 800 as of 2021 across the region's three provinces of Duhok, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, according to official figures.

While one of the region's two major political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), has expressed concern about the trend, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has not taken significant measures to stop it.

The PKK began entrenching itself in Iraq in the 1980s and has clashed with armed KDP and PUK forces in the 1990s.

President of the Duhok Provincial Council, Fehim Abdullah, said May 8, 2022, that due to PKK terrorism, 380 villages in the province have been evacuated, with many more set to be evacuated. In the Amedi district alone, 201 villages have been evacuated due to the terror group.

The occupation of areas with significant tourism potential by the PKK is also dealing a severe blow to employment and the economy in Duhok, Sulaymaniyah and Erbil.

The PKK has also attacked Peshmerga forces, which are part of the Iraqi armed forces in the KRG, and laid mines on the routes they use.

The PKK reportedly aims to expand the areas it occupies from the Penjwen district in Sulaymaniyah to the foothills of Mount Qandil along the border with Iran and is extending its presence in some villages to station more terrorists.

KRG officials have emphasized their rejection of the terrorist organization's occupation in the region. The region's President Nechirvan Barzani has emphasized that the KRG rejects the use of its territories by PKK terrorists against neighboring Türkiye, highlighting that the terror group is a "major headache" for both Erbil and Baghdad.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has accused the PKK of seeking to become an "alternative to constitutional institutions" and imposing itself on residents through pressure and coercion.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.