KDP President Masoud Barzani said in a written statement that "an inter-Kurdish war is forbidden", but gave dangerous signals about a violating of this very statement.

Barzani said: "Our position must not be misunderstood, and be used to intervene in the legal authority of the Kurdistan region. Nor should an attempt be made to impose an illegal armed will on the people of Kurdistan. Avoiding inter-Kurdish fighting doesn’t mean allowing the collapse of security and peace in cities, towns and villages, and for our citizens to leave their homes, properties and places, and be victims."

Saying that the peshmergas "heroically" fought against ISIS, but also admitting that they had evacuated most of the border areas, Barzani preferred to blame the PKK.

Barzani claimed that the PKK "occupied the relevant border regions and certain regions" and "imposed itself as an alternative to the government.”

Barzani also tried to explain the lack of services in the region due to the corruption with the PKK presence. The PKK, said Barzani "prevented people from building their own villages and settlements."

Barzani added that the PKK should “show respect for the legal and legitimate authority in the region. They should also leave the areas they occupied by force, as they pose a threat to the citizens of the Kurdistan region.”

Since 25 October, the KDP began to send a large force of armed men, accompanied by heavy weapons, to the vicinity of the area of ​​the attack, and deployed its militants in points close to the PKK fighters. Meanwhile, Turkish warplanes targeted guerrillas.

PKK Executive Committee Member Murat Karayılan had said: “Personally, I would like to refrain from giving the order to target Kurds. Nobody within our movement wants this. It is important that this is understood by our counterpart. We are not afraid of war, after all, we fight the enemy every day. But to start an inter-Kurdish war is not what we want.”

Karayilan went on to explain that the Turkish regime is pursuing a continuous strategy of causing internal Kurdish unrest and discord in order to assert its own interests. He said that this includes in particular influencing the public through targeted misinformation and propaganda. As an example, Karayilan cited manipulation by some officials from the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) that the PKK saw itself as an "alternative" to the regional government and wanted to take over Hewlêr.

“This manipulative narrative is now also being taken up by representatives of the KDP government. Whether they actually believe in it or want to convince anyone with this 'argument' is a mystery to us. In any case, we have no interest in being an alternative to the government. The establishment of the autonomous region is an achievement of the Kurdish people. It is an achievement that has emerged from decades of struggle. It stands for the will of the people," Karayilan said.