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PM Barzani: KRG expects PKK to act ‘reasonably’ and leave Shingal
[RUDAW.NET] The Kurdistan Region expects armed members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to act "reasonably" and leave the Yezidi region of Shingal, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said in a meeting with Yezidi community leaders in Duhok on Monday.Barzani told attendees of the meeting that his government wants to help with rebuilding the war-torn Yezidi areas, but claimed that the presence of the PKK fighters has limited this process. "[T]he Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) wishes to start rebuilding Shingal as soon as possible, but the presence of the fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the region has become a problem that made the Kurdistan Regional Government unable to work seriously enough in this regard," Barzani said, according to a blurb from his office. ISIS captured Shingal on August 3, 2014, committing genocide against the Yezidi population. The town was liberated in November 2015 by a coalition of Kurdish forces, including KRG Peshmerga and PKK fighters. The PKK has maintained a presence in the area, refusing calls from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to leave. Barzani repeated the official line that the KRG is thankful for the efforts of the PKK who helped with the protection of the Yezidi people in Shingal, adding that his government expects the PKK to leave these areas as the Peshmerga did after the liberation of Kobane in 2015. Posted by: Fred 2017-03-14 |
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