Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has expressed confidence in Iraq’s pro-Iranian Hashd al-Sha’bi forces to “cleanse” Sinjar, the historical homeland of the Yazidi people, from Kurdish guerrilla forces that had previously defended against ISIS’s genocidal campaign.
Speaking to Al Arabiya on Sunday, Fidan discussed a range of topics, including the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and broader Middle Eastern geopolitics.
Notably, the interview suggested that Turkey is tactically leveraging regional anti-Israeli sentiments to strengthen its campaign against the Kurds, with a significant military operation in Iraqi Kurdistan looming.
“I believe Hashd al-Sha’bi is willing to cleanse Sinjar of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party). If the PKK does not leave, every Iraqi patriot will fight this terrorist organisation occupying their country,” Fidan asserted.
He called for central Iraqi government action against the PKK, which he argued was previously perceived as a localised Kurdish issue: “Once we demonstrated the PKK’s activities in Sinjar, Sulaymaniyah and Makhmur, Baghdad was convinced that these are not isolated issues but require national attention.”
Fidan’s remarks also tied the military efforts against Kurdish forces to crucial infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing Turkey’s trade routes from the Gulf to Europe. He argued that the Development Road Project necessitates a stable region “free from PKK interference,” thereby justifying broader military operations under the guise of securing trade routes.
Recently, Russian sources claimed that the PKK collaborate with Israeli forces in Gaza, raising questions on potential Russian-Turkish strategies to shift Arab world perspectives regarding Kurdish autonomy and rights.
The US Department of the Treasury designated Falih al-Fayyadh, the chairman of Hashd al-Sha’bi, officially named the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Committee (PMC), for his role in serious human rights abuses on 8 January 2021.
Fidan met with PMC Chairman Falih al-Fayyadh on 19 February 2024 to solidify an anti-PKK alliance.
Turkey’s diplomatic moves for forging a region-wide anti-Kurd alliance were further highlighted by Turkey and Iraq’s Joint Security Mechanism Meeting to combat the PKK, on 14 March 2024.