Barzani calls for an end of a Kurdish-Kurdish conflict

[Anthea]

ARA News

Barzani warns of a Kurdish-Kurdish conflict, calls on PKK and KDPI to end rifts
Reporting by: Jan Nasro and Sarbaz Yousef

Massoud Barzani, President of Iraqi Kurdistan Region, issued a statement condemning the clashes that took place Sunday between the fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) at the borderline between Iran and the Kurdistan Region.

He expressed his concerns on the clashes between both Kurdish parties, calling on the two sides to avoid any Kurdish-Kurdish conflict.

“They should be able to address their rifts through dialogue,” he said.

“I previously stressed that we, as Kurds, must avoid any fighting against each others. Thus both sides should bear their national responsibility,” Barzani said. “The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will make all efforts to prevent such a Kurdish-Kurdish fighting.”

Barzani’s statement comes one day after clashes erupted between PKK fighters and the Iranian KDPI Peshmerga fighters near the Iranian border with Iraqi Kurdistan, which resulted in the death and injury of several fighters from both sides.

Commenting on Barzani’s statement, Kurdish politician Abdullah Safar said: “Barzani’s moderate position towards the rifts between the PKK and the KDPI reflects his awareness of the current challenges Kurds face in the Region. The Kurdish people endure mounting challenges at the moment, as they fight terrorism in Syria and Iraq, and are being severely suppressed in Iran.”

“Such clashes only serve the enemies of the Kurds,” he told ARA News.

Goran Mousa, former fighter of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said: “I’m quite familiar with the geography, nature and circumstances of this area (where the clashes between the PKK and the KDPI fighters took place).”

“The PKK fighters are present in those areas since 30 years, the Jirna in Jebel Kabar on the border between Turkey, Iran and the Kurdistan Region and our relationship with our brothers in the KDPI was good in that area,” he told ARA News. “Since 1994, the PKK offered dozens of martyrs while defending the KDPI, and we’ve never experienced such disputes among us.”

“We both (PKK and KDPI) participated in many battles against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards,” Mousa added. “I hope such clashes won’t occur again. We should focus on gaining our rights through fighting our enemies in the region.”

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