AFP
Sun, April 9, 2023
Several hundred Iraqi Kurds protested on Sunday against repeated Turkish military bombardments of their region, two days after an attack near the Sulaimaniyah airport.
The bombardment on Friday caused an explosion near the airport wall while the commander of the Kurdish-led and US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was present. US troops were also in the area but there were no casualties, the Pentagon said.
Around 400 protesters, many of them middle-aged, walked in the centre of Sulaimaniyah, the second city in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.
They waved the flag of Iraqi Kurdistan and held a banner denouncing the airport bombardment as a "terrorist act".
Organised by activists and former parliamentarians, the demonstrators also shouted against the "dictator" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, according to an AFP correspondent.
"This is not the first Turkish aggression against civilian targets in the region," said Ali Amine, 66, a retired civil servant.
"It has become a permanent attack. Sometimes it's villages, sometimes civilian targets -- agricultural land, water or electricity installations."
Another protester, Fatma Hamid, 55, denounced "the lax positions" of authorities in the region which has been autonomous for three decades.
Turkey has long maintained military positions inside northern Iraq, where it regularly launches operations against Turkish Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a "terrorist" organisation, operates rear bases in Iraq's north.
Since 1984 the PKK has waged an insurgency in Turkey that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Turkey regards the main component of the SDF, the People's Protection Units (YPG), as an offshoot of the PKK.
On April 3, Ankara halted flights to and from Sulaimaniyah until at least July 3, blaming increased PKK activity in and around the airport.
A source at the Turkish defence ministry denied any involvement by the country's military in the bombardment of Sulaimaniyah airport.
Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid on Saturday condemned Turkey's "military operations against the Kurdistan region, the last being the bombardment against Sulaimaniyah civilian airport".
Iraq calls on Turkey to apologize for attack on Sulaymaniyah airport
Kurdish protesters take part in a protest against a drone attack, in Sulaymaniyah
Sat, April 8, 2023
By Amina Ismail
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) -The Iraqi government called on Turkey on Saturday to apologize for what it said was an attack on Sulaymaniyah airport in northern Iraq, saying Ankara must cease hostilities on Iraqi soil.
The Iraqi presidency said in a statement that Turkey had no legal justification to continue "intimidating civilians under the pretext that forces hostile to it are present on Iraqi soil".
"In this regard we call on the Turkish government to take responsibility and present an official apology," it said.
Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), said a drone attack hit the vicinity of Sulaymaniyah airport on Friday but it caused no damage nor delays or suspension of flights.
A Turkish defence ministry official told Reuters no Turkish Armed Forces operation took place in that region on Friday.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement on Saturday that its chief, Mazloum Abdi, was at the airport at the time of the alleged attack but "no harm was done".
Abdi condemned the attack on Saturday but did not mention that he was targeted.
An informed source close to the leadership of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the party that controls the Sulaimaniya area, and two Kurdish security officials also confirmed that Abdi and three U.S. military personnel were near the airport.
The three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no one was injured or killed in the incident.
A U.S. official confirmed there was a strike on a convoy in the area and U.S. military personnel were in it, but there were no casualties.
While Turkey views the Kurdish-led forces in Syria as terrorists and a national security threat, the United States considers the SDF as an ally that has helped drive Islamic State from vast areas of Syria.
Turkey has conducted several military operations including air strikes over the decades in northern Iraq and northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, Islamic State and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Claims of an attack came days after Turkey closed its airspace to aircraft travelling to and from Sulaymaniyah due to what it said was intensified activity there by PKK militants.
The outlawed PKK, which has led an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
(Reporting by Amina Ismail; Additional reporting by Hatem Maher and Enas Alashray in Cairo, Ali Sultan in Sulaymaniyah, Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara, Idrees Ali in Washington, Timour Azhari in Beuirt; Editing by Mike Harrison and Angus MacSwan
Iraq, Syria's Kurdish leader condemn attack on airport
This is a locator map for Iraq with its capital, Baghdad.
By Amina Ismail
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) -The Iraqi government called on Turkey on Saturday to apologize for what it said was an attack on Sulaymaniyah airport in northern Iraq, saying Ankara must cease hostilities on Iraqi soil.
The Iraqi presidency said in a statement that Turkey had no legal justification to continue "intimidating civilians under the pretext that forces hostile to it are present on Iraqi soil".
"In this regard we call on the Turkish government to take responsibility and present an official apology," it said.
Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), said a drone attack hit the vicinity of Sulaymaniyah airport on Friday but it caused no damage nor delays or suspension of flights.
A Turkish defence ministry official told Reuters no Turkish Armed Forces operation took place in that region on Friday.
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement on Saturday that its chief, Mazloum Abdi, was at the airport at the time of the alleged attack but "no harm was done".
Abdi condemned the attack on Saturday but did not mention that he was targeted.
An informed source close to the leadership of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the party that controls the Sulaimaniya area, and two Kurdish security officials also confirmed that Abdi and three U.S. military personnel were near the airport.
The three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no one was injured or killed in the incident.
A U.S. official confirmed there was a strike on a convoy in the area and U.S. military personnel were in it, but there were no casualties.
While Turkey views the Kurdish-led forces in Syria as terrorists and a national security threat, the United States considers the SDF as an ally that has helped drive Islamic State from vast areas of Syria.
Turkey has conducted several military operations including air strikes over the decades in northern Iraq and northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, Islamic State and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Claims of an attack came days after Turkey closed its airspace to aircraft travelling to and from Sulaymaniyah due to what it said was intensified activity there by PKK militants.
The outlawed PKK, which has led an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
(Reporting by Amina Ismail; Additional reporting by Hatem Maher and Enas Alashray in Cairo, Ali Sultan in Sulaymaniyah, Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara, Idrees Ali in Washington, Timour Azhari in Beuirt; Editing by Mike Harrison and Angus MacSwan
Iraq, Syria's Kurdish leader condemn attack on airport
This is a locator map for Iraq with its capital, Baghdad.
SALAR SALIM
Sat, April 8, 2023
BAGHDAD (AP) — The commander of the main U.S.-backed force in Syria and Iraq’s presidency Saturday condemned what they say was a Turkish attack on an airport in northern Iraq.
The condemnation came as the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed Saturday that its chief commander, Mazloum Abdi, was at the airport in northern Iraq at the time of the attack but withheld information until he returned home safely. Abdi later spoke to Kurdish media saying that at the time of the attack he was with troops from the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting the Islamic State group.
Iraq’s presidency called the late Friday explosion in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region a “flagrant aggression against Iraq and its sovereignty” in the area. It called on Turkey to issue a formal apology, saying it should not continue “terrorizing” Iraqis in the north.
A representative of the Turkish defense ministry said he had no information about the incident.
Turkey has spent years fighting Kurdish militants in its east and large Kurdish communities live in neighboring Iraq and Syria, where they have a degree of self-rule. Turkey considers the main Kurdish militia in northeast Syria an ally of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK has for decades waged an insurgency within Turkey.
On Saturday, Iraq's National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, heading a high-level security delegation, arrived in Suleimanyah to discuss the issue with local officials, the state news agency reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, and some local media reported Friday that the explosion next to the Suleimaniyah International Airport was a Turkish drone attack targeting Abdi, the leader of the SDF.
The blast came days after Turkey closed its airspace to flights to and from the airport, citing an alleged increase in Kurdish militant activity threatening flight safety. The airport’s security directorate said an explosion took place near the fence surrounding the airport causing a fire but no injuries.
Officials with the SDF and the Kurdish regional government in northeast Syria said on Friday Abdi was not in Suleimaniyah at the time and was not the target of an attack.
On Saturday, SDF spokesman Farhad Sham said in a statement that as part of their emergency security response related to the safety of our forces’ command, “we deliberately restricted the release of information about the Turkish attack on Sulaymaniyah airport, where our commander-in-chief, Mazloum Abdi, was present.”
Shami added that the restrictions were “done to ensure his safety until he arrived unharmed in the secure areas of north and eastern Syria.” Shami added that further details about the attack will released later.
Abdi later spoke with the Kurdish North press agency saying he was in a convoy that included troops from the U.S.-led coalition and members of the Iraqi Kurdish anti-terrorism force. He added that the SDF and anti-terrorism forces in northern Iraq have joint operations rooms and the U.S.-led coalition is aware of that.
Asked about the reason behind the attack, Abdi said “it is a clear message from the Turks that they are bothered and oppose our international relations and they want to damage them.” Abdi added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking for a “free victory” ahead of the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections next month.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory, said Saturday that Abdi was not directly targeted but was near the airport holding a meeting with Kurdish officials when the Turkish military carried out the attack.
Retired U.S. Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a senior non-resident fellow at the U.S.-based New Lines Institute for Strategy, said the missile targeted a convoy carrying leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces as well as U.S. advisers to the Kurdish-led force.
“Turkey sent a warning shot. A deadly and dangerous and provocative warning shot when it fired a missile at the convoy,” he said.
Caggins added that it appears Turkey was sending a warning to both the United States and Iraqi Kurds to stop supporting the SDF. He added that Turkey is likely to continue such attacks “with impunity” because it says the SDF is aligned with the PKK and “therefore Turkey feels justified in targeting” the SDF.
A statement from the Iraqi Kurdish regional government in Iraq on Friday appeared to blame local authorities in Suleimaniyah. It accused them of provoking an attack on the airport and using “government institutions” for “illegal activities.”
The regional government, with its seat in Irbil, is primarily controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, while Suleimaniyah is a stronghold of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the regional government and a member of the PUK, rejected the regional government statement that appeared to cast blame on his party. He said the statement “represents only one party ... and cannot speak for the entire government.”
“We strongly condemn the targeting of Suleimaniyah airport by Turkey,” Abdi tweeted Saturday, adding that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's support for “their brothers in Syria is bothering Turkey.”
Abdi vowed that Syria’s Kurds “will continue with their principle relations with our brothers and allies in Suleimaniyah and we stand united against these violations.”
Caggins said he expects that the leaders of Turkey are emboldened by their ability to conduct cross-border strikes into Syria and into Iraq because the only response has been a “little bit of finger wagging and minor protest from Baghdad and Damascus and Washington.”
____
Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Hogir Al Abdo in Qamishli, Syria contributed to this report.
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