Iraq urges disarmament of remaining PKK elements in northern Iraq
Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Sunday called on Kurdish fighters who relocated to northern Iraq after a decades-long insurgency in Turkey to lay down their arms and fully implement a recent agreement between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Ankara.
The PKK announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, following an appeal from imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan. In July the group held a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq to begin laying down weapons as part of a peace effort with Turkey.
Nevertheless, Hussein said armed "PKK elements" remain in parts of northern Iraq, particularly in Sinjar and Makhmur. He raised the issue during a joint news conference in Baghdad with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who said Turkey expects the PKK to cease armed operations and withdraw from Iraq as well as parts of Iran and Syria.
"We support the agreement between Turkey and the PKK and look forward to the implementation of this agreement and the resolution of the PKK issue," Hussein said.
Hussein and Fidan discussed security cooperation and broader bilateral ties. Hussein said the two countries are signing 26 memorandums of understanding covering energy and security, and a significant water-rehabilitation agreement following talks last month.
An official at Sulaymaniyah International Airport, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that flights between Iraq and Turkey are scheduled to resume on Monday after a suspension of more than two years.
Sabri Ok, a member of the Kurdish umbrella organization the Kurdistan Communities Union, said this week that PKK forces inside Turkey were being withdrawn to northern Iraqi areas "to avoid clashes or provocations." The Turkish and Iraqi governments say they will continue to coordinate to ensure the agreement is implemented and remaining armed elements are disarmed or relocated peacefully.
Context: The PKK's May pledge to disband and the July symbolic arms-laying mark a potential turning point after roughly four decades of conflict with Turkey. The implementation of the agreement and the fate of fighters still in Sinjar and Makhmur remain key issues for Baghdad, Erbil and Ankara.
