The cooperation of the KDP, the ruling party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), with the Turkish state took on a new dimension with its recent deployment of troops and armored vehicles to the guerrilla areas.

The Turkish state has started to build a new military base in the Bradost region in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), according to the pro-PUK media.

With the new military base, the Turkish state penetrated some 10 km into the border of the Kurdistan Region.

Local sources report that around 100 soldiers have been airdropped by helicopters at the Turkish base in Bradost.

The new base is located in the area of Duriya and separates it from Xakurke, bringing the areas of Tarstan, Kem Kora and Sinîn Lolan under the control of the Turkish occupation state.

The establishment of the Turkish base began after the deployment of the KDP, which is collaborating with the Turkish army against the guerrilla forces.

On 13 September 2023, the KDP dispatched hundreds of armored vehicles and heavy weapons to  Bradost after forcibly evacuating the nomads from the region through threats, repression and use of force. A part of the KDP force attacked the positions of the guerrillas at Gewriya Zînê in the Goşîne area the following day. 

Local sources report that nearly 286 families, including nomads and farmers, had to leave their fields and orchards in the region due to KDP pressure.

Warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft of the Turkish state are conducting bombardments in the Bradost region on an almost daily basis. The region is also targeted by systematic artillery and mortar attacks.

The Turkish state has increased its military presence in southern Kurdistan more than ever in recent years and maintains dozens of bases from which helicopters and drones take off on attack flights. Thousands of soldiers are stationed in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In addition, there are locations of the Turkish intelligence service (MIT) and a broad network of agents.

The KDP, controlled by the Barzani family, is largely dependent on and closely allied with the AKP/MHP regime. The Turkish state is trying to use the KDP as a tool to trigger an internal Kurdish civil war. The current deployment of troops by the KDP shows the extent of the danger. In recent years, the KDP has repeatedly set up ambushes against the guerrillas, marked targets for Turkish airstrikes, captured guerrillas and even "disappeared" them. The KDP’s intelligence service Parastin supports the Turkish intelligence service MIT in its attacks against Kurdish activists in southern Kurdistan. So far, a major escalation could only be avoided thanks to the patient attitude of the guerrillas, who are trying to build a Kurdish unity. However, as the Turkish army seems to be on the defensive again in its current large-scale attack on the guerrilla-held Medya Defence Zones, a relief attack by the KDP is becoming increasingly likely.

While the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) are calling for Kurdish unity to stop the genocide of the Kurdish people, to make their voices heard at the international level and to prevent an inner-Kurdish war, the Barzani-dominated KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) in South Kurdistan is working with the Turkish state and its secret service MIT and is doing the exact opposite.

Elî Ewnî, a member of the Central Committee of the KDP, openly called for the murder of leading PKK members during a TV appearance on a Barzani family channel in mid-August. Ewnî explained that the Turkish army and MIT are capable of targeting people with drones and questioned why the PKK leadership is not being eliminated with drones.

Elî Ewnî stated: "I say it to the leaders of the Turkish state. You can use drones, the airway and by means of the Internet to locate the members of the PKK in the tens of thousands of cars going to Ahmedawa and bomb them. Don't you know the leaders and vanguards of the PKK who come and go to Turkey through Ranya, Derbindaxan, Qeladizê and Bradost?"