Turkey is getting ready to attack Qandil (Qendîl), a mountainous refuge for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Iraq-Iran border, before the upcoming elections and requires Iran’s cooperation to do so, journalist Beritan Zagros claimed in an interview with Mezopotamya News on Wednesday.
Zagros evaluated Turkey’s attacks on the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI), the stance of non-action taken by the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) in solidarity with the region’s earthquake-striken population, and Turkey’s plan, with the support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), to build new tourism infrastructure through the region.
In February 2021 Turkey launched a military operation, including alleged chemical attacks, against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Garê region of the KRI. The Kurdish guerrillas won a historic victory. In defeat, Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) launched subsequent failed attacks against the PKK in Metîna, Zap and the Zagros mountains, as part of a series of on-going military operations dubbed Claw Lock, she said.
Since last December, in some areas the PKK has managed to force the Turkish army to withdraw, the journalist continued.
“In the overall picture, they [TAF] failed to achieve the success they aimed for and tasted another historical failure,” said Zagros. “Land attacks have stopped, chemical weapons, tactical bombs and air attacks continue,” she added.
In addition, Turkey wants to construct a new tourist route through the KRI between Bakur and Bashûr, Zagros said. “With the co-operation of the KDP, they want to build a new road between the North and the South… They want to completely occupy and plunder the region militarily and economically.”
Zagros concluded by celebrating the KCK’s decision to declare a period of non-action while survivors of the 6 February earthquake cope with the aftermath of the disaster and added that the show of solidarity was welcomed positively in the region.
