Co-chair of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK – a Brussels-based umbrella group of Kurdish organisations) Zeynep Murat has called for immediate action from security forces following a fatal armed attack on the their office in Erbil (Hewlêr) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Monday, which she described as an assault on all Kurds.
The attack led to the death of veteran Kurdish politician Deniz Cevdet Bülbün, the KNK’s Iraqi Kurdistan representative. No arrests or official statements have been made in connection with the incident.
“The attack on the KNK is no ordinary attack. It occurred in broad daylight in the centre of Hewlêr, in view of all its cameras”, Murat stated. She further elaborated that the attack was an assault on all Kurds, not just a single member of the KNK. “Enemies of the Kurdish people aim to destroy the achievements of the Kurdistan National Congress through such attacks”, she added.
Murat emphasised the urgency for the security forces in Erbil and the Kurdistan Regional Government to investigate the attack thoroughly. “The culprits must be found and punished as soon as possible”, she urged. Murat described the late Deniz Cevdet Bülbün as a patriot whose entire effort was focused on carrying out national unity work within the KNK.