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The U.S. is pursuing a “hypocritical” policy regarding the PKK terrorist group by supporting PKK terrorists in Iraq’s Sinjar district through northern Syria, Haider Saso, secretary-general of Iraq's Ezidi Democratic Party, said Wednesday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Saso, who resides in Sinjar, blasted what he described as ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and the PKK.
"The U.S. is pursuing a two-faced policy when it comes to the PKK,” he said. “While it puts prices on the heads of top PKK operators, it collaborates with the group in Sinjar and in northern Syria.”
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday blasted countries that support the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) but not its victims.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.Erdoğan said those who praise the 2013 Gezi Park protests are supporters of terror groups like PKK and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).Hundreds defect from PKK terror group as Turkish ops gain paceAddressing the 43rd mukhtars meeting at the presidential complex, Erdoğan said: "Gezi means to stand against all those efforts and projects to develop and take Turkey a step further."In the summer of 2013, a relatively small demonstration in Istanbul’s Gezi Park grew into a nationwide wave of protests against the government that left eight protesters and a police officer dead.The government later said the demonstrations were an attempt to overthrow it by FETÖ members who had infiltrated the the police and courts.US sends medical aid to PKK terrorists in Iraq’s QandilFETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt on July 15, 2016 which left 251 people dead and nearly 2,200 injured.Turkey accuses FETÖ of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.Speaking about a European Court of Human Rights ruling demanding the release of Selahattin Demirtaş, jailed former co-chairman of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Erdoğan said: "Those terrorists will direct not only their hatred but also their guns to you when you harm their interests."ECHR ruling on former HDP leader Demirtaş ‘does not bind us,’ says Erdoğan“Have you ever heard about any statement from any EU body on this individual who provoked the death of 50 innocent civilians through his statements on Oct. 6-8?" he added.The civilians were killed during clashes called by Demirtaş on Oct. 6-8, 2014."We can never take it seriously when countries support PKK, recognized as a terror group by the EU, the murderer of tens of thousands of people -- from newborn babies to 80-year-olds."Erdoğan slammed the countries supporting FETÖ, saying: "Countries which treat FETÖ respectfully, should not lecture on democracy."
Erdoğan blasts countries that support PKK but not its victims
Sinjar, he went on to assert, was “teeming with” PKK military bases and camps.
"The U.S. and the PKK, along with the latter’s many affiliates, are working in tandem,” Saso said, accusing the PKK of forcibly recruiting Ezidi youth.
“The U.S. is helping the PKK and its affiliates in Sinjar through the PYD/YPG terrorist group in northern Syria,” he added.
Turkish security units have started to reach out to families of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists in order to convince those who live in high mountain encampments to stop violence and call them to return home.These initiatives called “persuasion operations” helped a total of 282 terrorists to defect from the PKK.According to reports, only 95 people joined the PKK since the beginning of 2018, and 723 surrendered to Turkish security forces in last two years alone.A total of 210 PKK terrorists have been “neutralized” as part of anti-terror operations across Turkey and abroad in October.Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.US sends medical aid to PKK terrorists in Iraq’s Qandil
Hundreds defect from PKK terror group as Turkish ops gain pace
Officials from Iraq's central government have recently met with their Turkish counterparts to discuss means of driving the terrorist group from Iraqi territory.
Saso, for his part, says the PKK is receiving financial assistance through the Iraqi army and the Hashd al-Shaabi, a predominantly Shia fighting force.
In mid-2014, the PKK sent fighters to Sinjar -- from Syria and Iraq’ northeastern Qandil region -- on the pretext that it was protecting Ezidis from the Daesh terrorist group.
The United States dispatched medical aid to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror organization via Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah International Airport. Cargo planes landed at the airport and the aid was transported to Erbil before it was distributed to the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD).Some of the aid was provided to terrorists stationed in Iraq’s Qandil, while another portion was sent to the PKK/PYD in Syria’s north.Northern Iraq’s Qandil Mountains have been a haven for PKK terrorists over the past few decades. Considered as the main base of the PKK, which control checkpoints and entrances to the mountains, the structuring in the area is used for cover and concealment by terrorists.UAE, Saudi Arabia dispatch troops to east of the Euphrates in SyriaApart from the medical aid that was stashed in thousands of boxes, mine detectors and light arms were also provided by the U.S. to the terror group.Military sources say that the U.S. has been sending necessities and medical aid as well as heavy arms to Qandil for quite some time, in addition to the 5,000 trucks of arms it sent to PYD in Syria under the pretext of fighting Daesh.Turkey reacts cautiously to US putting bounty on PKKThe U.S. has continued to aid the terror group despite placing a bounty on three key PKK terrorists in early November.Under the Rewards for Justice program, people who give information on the identification or location of PKK terrorists Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik, and Duran Kalkan are eligible for rewards of $3-5 million.Hundreds of US troops deploy to PKK-occupied areas on Turkey-Syria borderThe move was a "positive but belated" step, Turkish national defense minister said.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.The U.S. and the coalition have largely ignored the PYD/YPG links to the PKK, which the U.S., EU, and Turkey list as a terrorist group.Suspected PKK terrorist arrested in southeastern TurkeyTurkish DefMin discusses Syria's Idlib with Russian counterpartSyrians continue to return to hometowns cleared of terrorists by Turkey
US sends medical aid to PKK terrorists in Iraq’s Qandil
But even though the region was later cleared of Daesh terrorists, the PKK has continued its expansionist policies in the area, Saso said.
In October of last year, the Iraqi government sent federal troops into parts of northern Iraq “disputed” between it and the Kurdish Regional Government -- including Sinjar.
After federal forces moved into Sinjar, the PKK falsely claimed to have withdrawn from the region.