KNK member Niyaz Abdullah said that the 80th force of the KDP was helping the Turkish state in some places, that some KDP bases were evacuated for the Turkish army and that 50 per cent of Behdînan was under occupation.
KNK (Kurdistan National Congress) member Niyaz Abdullah warned that there is a danger that previous agreements between Iraq and Turkey will be implemented after Erdoğan's visit.
50 percent of Behdînan territory is under Turkish occupation
Speaking to ANF, Niyaz Abdullah recalled that the Turkish state's attacks on Southern Kurdistan have been continuing for a long time and said the following: "There was not enough reaction to the invasion attacks. The governments of Iraq and the Federal Kurdistan Region have remained silent. The administration of the Federal Kurdistan Region is fragmented, and so are the military forces. The 80th force of the KDP is helping the Turkish state in some places. We say this with great regret. In some areas, KDP bases have been evacuated for the Turkish army. Currently, 50 percent of Behdînan territory is under the occupation of the Turkish army and some areas are under the control of MIT (Turkish intelligence service). For example, a MIT official said that MIT has more than 6 branches in the Federal Kurdistan Region. He mentioned cities under the control of the KDP, but also areas under the control of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), where there are agent bases. The occupation process has become a protracted one. On the other hand, the Iraqi government was expected to react to the Turkish invasion, but after Turkey cut off the flow of water to Iraq several times, this situation became a great pressure on Iraq."
‘Turkish bases in Kurdistan Region could be seen as official bases’
Pointing to the danger posed by Erdoğan's visit to Iraq, Niyaz Abdullah argued that the agreements made before will now be put into practice. Emphasising that one of the dangers is that the Turkish bases in the Kurdistan Region will be seen as official bases, Niyaz Abdullah continued: "In the 1980s, there was an agreement between Iraq and the Turkish state that Turkey could enter a few kilometres into the territory of Southern Kurdistan. Now the issue is completely different. Many problems have emerged as a result of the political, military and economic instability in Southern Kurdistan. One of them is that freedom of expression is completely threatened by the new cabinet of the Kurdistan Government. Journalists are being arrested, imprisoned, tortured and forced to leave Southern Kurdistan. This has become a dangerous issue. Therefore, the elimination of freedom of expression and the violation of human rights principles has become a strategy in the new cabinet of the Government of Federal Kurdistan. The government is arresting anyone who criticises it. There are journalists martyred by the KDP. In Southern Kurdistan, those who criticise Turkey are in danger. Most of Behdînan prisoners and imprisoned journalists are critics of the Turkish occupation."
