Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) MP Balanbo Muhamed said that Turkish air raids have intensified in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and have even reached to populated urban areas, in an interview with Roj News, on 3 November.
Muhamed, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament, said Turkish and Iranian warplanes have targeted urban areas, resulting in civilian casualties. He added that Iraqi authorities and international powers remain silent in spite of the bombardments being a “blatant violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty.
The Kurdish politician also stressed that the Kurdistan Parliament has been unable to act since it was the Iraqi authorities’ responsibility to stand against the attack, but that they do not care.
Balanbo Muhamed continued saying that Turkey has increased its usage of chemical weapons in the areas of northern Iraq due to UN and international powers turning a blind eye. He added, “If the Iraqi authorities and the UN can not protect us, so who else can do it?”
The UN Iraq Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert had recently said on 1 November “I can not solve these issues for you,” in a conference by Middle East Research Institute (MERI) referring to Turkey and Iran’s bombardment attacks.
Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, said the US is committed to protecting its allies in the region and demonstrated her country’s support to the elected Iraqi government.
“Iraq, including Iraqi Kurdistan region is a strategic partner of the United States and it plays a important role in the broader region (…) the United States, as you know, is not going anywhere. It’s not going away from this region,” said Romanowski.
Yet no actions have been yet held to stop the neighbouring two countries’ bombardment attacks.
Turkey launched its last cross-border military Clow-lock Operation into northern Iraq mountains Zap, Avaşîn, Metîna in mid-April, targeting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in the region. The frequency of Turkish attacks has increased in the since August, and there are mounting evidences on the allegations that Turkish army have used chemical weapons against Kurdish fighters.
Iran also recently launched attacks with heavy weaponry and drones on exiled Kurdish political groups in northern Iraq, which Iran designates them as “terrorists organisations”. Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps ramped up shelling those targets in September after mass anti-goverment protests over the murder of Jina Amini, on 16 September, took held across the country and still ongoing.
