US urges PKK to leave Iraq’s Sinjar region
The presence of the PKK in the Iraqi region of Sinjar is a "major obstacle to reconciliation", and doesn’t facilitate to the returning of the internally displaced persons. Such statement was issued by the US State Department on Tuesday.
“We believe that the PKK which is a U.S. designated terrorist organization should have no role in Sinjar,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
Toner’s comments comes after Iraqi Kurdish regional government Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani threatened to use military force to remove the PKK from the predominantly Kurdish Yezidi city of Sinjar.
The PKK has sought to establish a foothold in the region that falls to the northeastern mountainous outskirts of Nineveh province, since Islamic State was driven out last year by Peshmerga and local forces with the help of the U.S.-led coalition.
Turkey has also expressed concerns about PKK’s presence in Sinjar and said it would take precautionary measures, including deploying troops, to prevent the terror group from securing a base in the region.
Toner also urged all groups active in Sinjar “to facilitate political reconciliation” that would allow internally displaced people to return to their homes.
He said he believes the Iraqi government in Baghdad shares the concerns about PKK’s presence in Sinjar.
Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com.
