PKK terrorist group threatens livelihood of Iraqi villagers

THE PEOPLE in the towns of Amedi and Duhok in Iraq are experiencing what residents of rural parts of southeastern Türkiye went through in the past. The presence of the PKK terrorist group hinders their access to the villages and fertile lands and, consequently, affects tourism and agriculture in the area.

Azad Amedi, a resident of Duhok, told Anadolu Agency (AA) earlier this week that the PKK has significantly impacted the villages in the region, forcing many people to relocate to the city center. “Except for four-five villages, no one remains in the region; everyone has moved to Duhok. We do not want these (terrorist group PKK) foreign forces to stay here. We want people to return to their places,” said Amedi, describing Amedi town as Iraq’s largest agriculture and animal husbandry district.

Stressing that people fear visiting certain villages and mountainous areas, he said the removal of the PKK terrorists could revive work and agricultural activities in the region. Muhammad Shali from Amedi also highlighted the district’s historical significance as an important tourist destination, saying that tourism increases during summer.

“However, due to the presence of foreign forces (terrorist group PKK) in our region, foreign tourists go as far as Erbil and Duhok but hesitate to come to our region. The same hesitation exists for local tourists and local people,” Shali said. He urged powerful countries and authorities to address the issue for the revival of tourism and other business sectors in the region. “Many agricultural products are made in the villages in the region, but hundreds of villages have been abandoned due to this issue. This means a blow to agriculture. People cannot visit their villages and work there because of the foreign forces’ (terrorist organization PKK) presence there.”

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government’s Prime Minister Mesrur Barzani stated in February 2021 that the PKK’s occupation of the region hindered the reconstruction of 800 villages and prevented farmers from accessing their lands.

The PKK, not recognized as a terrorist group in Iraq, seeks to legitimize its presence through political parties and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Türkiye’s southern neighbor. In rural Sulaymaniyah, it intimidates the local population by setting up “checkpoints” and through extortions and kidnappings. Collaboration between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the PKK in semiautonomous northern Iraq risks spillover of the terrorist group’s violent campaigns to the wider region. PUK, based in northern Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah, stands accused of giving more freedom of movement both in the city and rural parts of Sulaymaniyah to the PKK.

After the PKK killed 21 Turkish soldiers in the Metina region during a single month, Ankara intensified airstrikes on PKK targets and hideouts across its border, particularly in Sulaymaniyah. The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, Britain and the European Union – is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terror. Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq. Ankara maintains dozens of military bases there, and it regularly launches operations against the PKK, which operates a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil province. However, the area is under de jure control of the KRG.