The People’s Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), on Friday issued a statement that asserted that Turkey has withdrawn from several regions in Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
“The invasion launched by the occupying Turkish state in Werxelê and Tabûra Ereba areas of the Avaşîn region [in Iraqi Kurdistan] was confronted by a historical resistance of our forces. The invaders, seeing that they will not be able make any progress in the face of the resistance and suffer further losses, have withdrawn from these areas,” the HPG stated.
The last wave of military operations into Iraqi Kurdistan was launched in April 2021.
During the months-long assault, the HPG had on numerous occasions stated that Turkish forces had been ‘stuck’ due to the tactical resistance developed by the Kurdish fighters.
In the course of the operations carried out by Turkish army units, there have been allegations that chemical weapons were used against both Kurdish fighters and civilians.
There has never been an official statement regarding Turkey’s withdrawal until today, but HPG and PKK executives had previously shared their expectations that Turkey would withdraw soon due to their inability to move forward in the region.
