To avoid tensions with Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party redeploys in northern Iraq

In an effort to eliminate potential causes of tension with Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has withdrawn its fighters from a strategic area in northern Iraq.

On Monday, the party announced its withdrawal from the Zab region, which borders Turkey, stating that it had posed “a risk of conflict”. The step is intended, according to the party, to support the peace process with Ankara.

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In a statement published by the pro-Kurdish Firat News Agency, the party said: “By the evening of November 16, our forces had withdrawn from the Zab area to other suitable locations. The risk of conflict in this area has now been completely eliminated.”

It added that the move represents “an important practical contribution to the development and success of the peace process” with the Turkish authorities and demonstrates “our commitment to this process.”

Following talks with the Turkish authorities, mediated by the Party of Equality and Democracy of Peoples in October 2024, the PKK announced in May that it was dissolving itself in response to an appeal by its founder, Abdullah Öcalan, after more than four decades of fighting against Turkish forces, a conflict that has claimed around 50,000 lives.

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On October 26, the party also announced the withdrawal of all its forces from Turkey to northern Iraq, urging Ankara to proceed with the legal measures necessary to safeguard the peace process.

Over the past ten years, most PKK fighters have taken refuge in mountainous areas of northern Iraq, where Turkey has maintained military bases for 25 years to counter them and has regularly carried out ground and air operations against them.

Turkey has consistently focused its operations on the Zab region, which has witnessed numerous violent clashes over the years and holds symbolic significance for the PKK.

Progress in this area has always been difficult because of its mountainous terrain, and the party maintained a strong presence there until recently.

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