ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s national security advisor arrived in Erbil as the head of a high-level delegation on Thursday after Baghdad condemned the recent Turkish military “incursion” in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province. Iraq’s National Security Council on Wednesday met to reject the “violations by Turkish forces in the shared border areas,” and reiterated their opposition of Ankara’s military incursions in the Kurdistan Region, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. Qasim al-Araji “arrived in Erbil at the head of a high-level security delegation,” state media reported, adding that “the visit came based on the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.” Turkey has deployed a large number of troops in Duhok province since mid-June, causing an escalation in Ankara’s decades-long war against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the area. “Since the start of the new Turkish military operation, Turkey has conducted 238 bombardments in Iraqi Kurdistan, primarily in the Duhok governorate,” said the US-based Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a rights group which closely monitors Turkey-PKK conflict, on Sunday. The PKK is a Kurdish group that has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades in the struggle for greater Kurdish rights and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara. Iraq labeled the PKK a banned organization earlier this year ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rare visit to the country in April. Baghdad and Ankara signed dozens of agreements during Erdogan’s visit which covered a range of issues, including security. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has yet to comment on the fresh escalations on the border but its interior ministry told reporters on Tuesday that Baghdad, Erbil, and Ankara were discussing the matter. “The presence of the PKK gives [Turkey] an excuse to carry out such activities. The presence of the PKK is illegal,” Minister Reber Ahmed said, adding that “PKK should leave these areas so that the residents of these villages no longer have to be displaced.” Ankara’s relentless military strikes and the deployment of ground troops have also stoked fear in the local villagers of Duhok province’s mountainous areas, fearing displacement from their villages as mortar shells and constant gunfire prompt panic.
