The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) released a statement on Thursday linking the conflicts in Deir ez-Zor and Kirkuk to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil (Hêwler) from 22-24 August. The committee asserts that the tensions are not coincidental but are a result of Turkey’s “expansionist ambitions”.
Speaking at a joint press conference after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahiyan in Tehran, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that the alleged increased presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the city was linked to the fatal clashes in Kirkuk. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the tensions in Deir ez-Zor as a move by the Arab tribes “to reclaim their own lands in unity and solidarity”, thereby confirming his support for the groups causing these conflicts.
The KCK accuses Turkey of violating Iraq and Syria’s sovereignty, drawing parallels to Turkey’s occupation of Cyprus in 1974. Hakan Fidan, previously the head of the Turkish intelligence (MIT), is accused of continuing his provocative tactics under the title of foreign minister.
The statement also criticises Erdoğan and Fidan for declaring Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic city, as a “Turkish homeland” and a “Turkmen city”. They are accused of using the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Barzani family to conceal their expansionist aims. The Iraqi Turkmen Front and the KDP administration are said to be working under Ankara and MIT’s command to legitimise Turkey’s actions.
The committee warns that Kirkuk is being transformed into a new conflict centre due to Turkey’s provocations. It calls for the people of Kirkuk to oppose “all kinds of foreign interventions and occupying policies that want to make the peoples put a knife on each other’s throats.” The statement also demands the dismantling of 90 Turkish military outposts on Iraqi soil and calls for resistance against Turkey’s “increasing political, cultural and economic hegemony of Turkey over South Kurdistan”.
