Iraq News Now

SULAIMANI, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Kurdish political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan region expressed support for protesters in Shiladze, criticized Turkey’s airstrikes and Kurdistan Regional Government threats against the protesters.

On Saturday night, Kurdish protesters stormed a Turkish army position in the Shiladzeh region of Iraqi Kurdistan region to protest the deaths of four civilians they said were killed last week in Turkish bombardment.

One protester killed by Turkish army and at least ten were injured after demonstrators stormed a Turkish military facility in Shiladze in Duhok province.

New Generation Movement expresses support for protesters, criticizes KRG statement

The New Generation Movement’s caucus in the Council of Representatives expressed its support for protesters in Shiladze and condemned what it perceived as threats by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) against the protesters.

“We condemn the use of violence against peaceful demonstrators,” it said in a statement released late on Saturday (January 26).

“Today, the innocent residents of Deraluk staged a peaceful demonstration to protest continuous Turkish airstrikes in the Badinan region. Unfortunately, the demonstration ended in violence, during which a civilian was killed and several others were wounded,” it added.

“Now the innocent people of Deraluk and the protesters are being threatened and subjected to investigations.”

The KDP-led KRG released a statement expressing its concern over the protests and sending condolences to the families of the victims.

However, it also claimed that “the hands of demagogues” were behind the attack and vowed to carry out an investigation and punish those responsible for the “mayhem.”

“It is the duty of the Asayish [Kurdish security forces] to protect the safety and security of the people, not to threaten them,” New Generation’s statement continued.

“We are asking the Iraqi central government to protect the people and the borders of the Kurdistan Region because the two ruling families do not value the lives or the dignity of the Region’s people.”

“They are not afraid to resort to violence or to attack civilians in order to protect their interests,” it concluded.

It is known that the KDP’s Barzani clan has close ties with the Turkish government.

Gorran Movement calls on Turkey to end airstrikes in Iraqi Kurdistan Region

The Change Movement (Gorran) delegation to Iraqi Kurdistan parliament said in a statement on Saturday that it is the duty of Iraq to protect the borders of the Kurdistan Region and ensure that its sovereignty is protected.

The statement also called on Turkey to end strikes on civilians and to withdraw its troops from the Kurdistan Region.

“Bombardment, fighting, and killing do not solve the Kurdish question in Turkey. It only increases the number of the victims,” the statement read.

“The only solution to the Kurdish question in the country is peaceful dialogue.”

PUK cadre: People in Shiladze ‘defending themselves’

A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) leadership, Arez Abdulla, said on Saturday evening that the people in Shiladze were defending themselves.

Arez Abdulla told NRT TV that when the people of Shiladze feel that the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi government, and the parties are not defending them, then they are forced to defend themselves.

“Denouncing them as demagogues is a crime against the people of Shiladze,” Abdulla said, referencing a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) statement that blamed “the hands of demagogues” for the violence.

“Turkey is against the Kurdistan Regional Government, but it has the excuse of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK] presence. Thus, the villages have been ravaged and evacuated and the people have been harmed. What Turkey is doing is not only against the PKK, but also against the Kurds,” he added.

Copyright © 2019, respective author or news agency, nrttv.com | Ekurd.net

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