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Middle East Eye
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
As PKK disarms, Turkey solidifies its power against Iran and Israel
When Israel and Iran struck each other last year in a series of escalatory steps involving air attacks and cruise missiles, every country in the region raised its alarm levels. Ankara encouraged calm for both countries, despite its severe criticism of Israel's war on Gaza, which it describes as a full-blown genocide. However, the escalation seemingly pushed Ankara to address its decades-long problem with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which had waged a 40-year war against the Turkish state in Syria, Iraq and Turkey in the name of greater rights for the Kurds. For Turkish officials, the PKK, a left-wing armed group with sufficient regional knowledge to make strategic overtures to state actors such as Russia and the US, could be a potential pawn for Iran and Israel. After months-long negotiations with Ankara, the PKK on Monday announced that it is disbanding and ending the armed struggle. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The decision, if successfully implemented in a convincing and verified manner, would usher in a new era within Turkish society, as it would finally establish social peace. Also, it would be a regional victory for Ankara. 'I think the disarmament of the PKK is a major strategic win for Turkey, with big implications for both Syria and Iraq,' Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King's College London, told Middle East Eye. 'It also shifts the regional balance in Turkey's favour - especially in relation to Iran and Israel.' Iran losing a potential partner The PKK's relationship with Iran has been complicated. Through its Iranian arm, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the group also waged war against Tehran for decades but declared an indefinite ceasefire in 2011. However, this did not stop the Iranian government from trying to spoil a peace process in 2013 between Turkey and the PKK. Turkey has often accused Iran of turning a blind eye to PKK manoeuvres near the border. For instance, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler said last year that it was puzzling to observe Iranian military inaction in instances where the Turkish government had informed Tehran of the PKK's whereabouts. 'With Assad gone and Hezbollah weakened, the PKK's disarmament removes another potential Iranian proxy from the board' - Andreas Krieg, analyst Meanwhile in Iraq, where Turkish troops have been deployed to battle the PKK, Turkey would be rid of a huge financial and security commitment that has cost billions of dollars over decades. Some PKK elements, such as the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), have been indirectly supported by Iran, with their salaries paid by Iraqi paramilitaries close to Tehran. A Rudaw report on Monday said that the YBS does not expect a quick evacuation of PKK fighters from its bases in Sinjar, where the Turkish military, Iraqi army and Kurdistan Regional Government forces have been in a standoff for years, indicating further challenges. But with Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria gone and Hezbollah on the back foot due to Israeli attacks, Iran is facing a new chapter in the region. 'This is a clear win for Turkey against Iran. With Assad gone and Hezbollah weakened, the PKK's disarmament removes another potential Iranian proxy from the board,' Krieg says. 'With all of those fronts collapsing, Iran loses the ability to project power westward, effectively ending its long-held 'land corridor' to the Mediterranean.' Israeli overtures With Israel, the situation is even more complicated. A series of Israeli governments lent political and military support to Turkey in the 1990s against the PKK, establishing a close alliance with secularist generals at the time. But under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule, the relationship deteriorated, and Ankara from time to time has accused Israel of indirectly supporting the PKK. The relationship has reached a low point following the Gaza war, and Israeli official statements regarding "the Kurds," particularly concerning PKK-linked groups in Syria, subsequently shifted. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in November openly called for closer relations between Israel and Kurdish communities. He said his country should reach out to Kurds and other regional minorities that are "natural" allies. Saar said Kurds are "a victim of oppression and aggression from Iran and Turkey" and that Israel needed to strengthen ties to them. "This has both political and security aspects," he added. Turkey and the PKK: Who is Abdullah Ocalan? Read More » After Assad's fall in December, Israeli public news outlet Kann reported several engagements between Israel and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed armed group spearheaded by PKK offshoots. MEE reported in December that Israel has been planning to divide Syria into four regions, including ones for the Druze and the Kurds, to keep its neighbour weak and fractured. The plan has infuriated Turkey. However, Turkey's engagements with the US pushed the SDF to sign a deal with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, effectively abandoning plans for an independent or autonomous Kurdish region in the country. The deal, which is yet to be smoothed out due to internal challenges, was also a demand by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who called on his followers to abandon demands for any form of autonomy and urged them to participate in democratic societies and politics within nation states. Importantly, the PKK's disarmament will potentially stabilise Syria, as Sharaa's central government will be more emboldened. 'Israel benefits from Iran's retreat, but Turkey's rising power challenges Israeli influence in the Levant,' Krieg says. 'The PKK and other Kurdish groups have been important proxies for Israeli strategic depth in the Levant.'
Rudaw Net
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
PKK expected to remain in Shingal despite dissolution: Yazidi commander
Also in Iraq Push for unified Kurdish opposition bloc set back by key group's withdrawal Kurdish-directed 'Said Effendi' to make historic debut at Cannes Festival More than a decade on, 2,500 Yazidis still missing after ISIS attack Iraqi university to launch AI programs A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is expected maintain bases in the Yazidi heartland of Shingal (Sinjar) in western Nineveh province, despite announcing its dissolution and the end of its armed struggle against Turkey, according to a Peshmerga commander in Shingal. 'Although the PKK has decided to dissolve itself and disarm, they still remain in their bases and headquarters in Shingal,' Ezidikhan Protection Forces commander Haider Shasho, whose forces are a Yazidi division within the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga Ministry, told Rudaw on Monday. Earlier in the day, the PKK announced its dissolution and the end of its armed struggle against the Turkish state, marking what it described as a step toward a peaceful resolution to the decades-long conflict with Ankara. The announcement followed a party congress held from May 5 to 7 to consider the late February call from jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to disarm, dissolve the group, and pursue a political struggle. In a statement, the congress declared that the PKK had 'completed its historical mission' by 'breaking the policy of denial and annihilation on our people and bringing the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics.' 'I don't believe they will leave their bases so early,' Shasho added. The Shingal Resistance Units (YBS), believed to be affiliated with the PKK, has remained in control of parts of the district since the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) a decade ago. The numerous armed groups in the area have been identified as one of the sources of continued insecurity that has prevented the return of thousands of Shingal's residents who fled ISIS in 2014. Baghdad and Erbil signed an agreement in 2020 to normalize the situation in Shingal, but the deal has yet to be implemented. Turkey considers the YBS an offshoot of the PKK and has targeted its positions in Shingal numerous times, killing dozens of its members, including top commanders. 'In this period when the political situation is stable, Shingal's security is stable, and there is no bombardment and fighting,' the Yazidi commander revealed. The PKK was founded in 1978 in response to the oppression of the Kurdish population in Turkey. It initially struggled for an independent Kurdistan but now calls for greater political and cultural rights within Turkey. Ankara and its Western allies consider the group a terrorist organization. Sirwan Abbas contributed to this report.
Shafaq News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Erbil presses Baghdad to act on Sinjar deal
Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan Regional Government reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the Sinjar Agreement with the federal government, Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed affirmed on Tuesday. During the First International Scientific Conference on Yazidis held at the University of Duhok, Ahmed pointed out that the Sinjar Agreement aims to remove armed groups from the district, restore security, stability, and the rule of law, and provide a framework to facilitate the return of displaced Yazidi families to their homes. 'We hope that the federal government will take full responsibility to ensure the presence of a legitimate local administration,' he said. In 2017, following rising tensions between Baghdad and Erbil after the Kurdistan independence referendum, Iraqi forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) took control of the district. Since then, the PKK, which opposes Ankara, has established a loyal faction known as the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS), which continues to operate in the area and receives funding from the Iraqi government as a unit affiliated with the PMF. To address the instability, Baghdad and Erbil reached the Sinjar Agreement on October 9, 2020, aiming to normalize the situation in the district through joint administrative, security, and service arrangements. However, officials in the Kurdistan Region say political obstacles have prevented the agreement's full implementation. Despite the deal, clashes have occasionally erupted between competing forces in the area; the latest occurred on March 18 between Iraqi army forces and fighters from YBS, resulting in the arrest of five YBS members.
Shafaq News
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Protests in Iraq's Sinjar: Locals threaten escalation over YBS detainees
Shafaq News/ Dozens of residents in Sinjar, west of Iraq's Nineveh Province, staged protests on Tuesday, demanding the release of several detained members of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS). A security source told Shafaq News Agency that demonstrators gathered near security headquarters in the Sinuni area, urging authorities to free those recently arrested by Iraqi forces. The protesters reportedly threatened to escalate their actions if their demands were not addressed. Recent security tensions in Sinjar between Iraqi security forces and the YBS, a military formation linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), have led to clashes and arrests in the region. Sinuni has been a hotspot for recurring tensions due to the presence of multiple security and military forces. Locals continue to demand the implementation of the Sinjar Agreement
Rudaw Net
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iraq arrests eight suspected ISIS members
Also in Iraq Iraq recovers over 35,000 relics in effort to restore ISIS-destroyed Nimrud Iraq arrests over 700 foreign workers in Baghdad YBS slams Iraqi army for labeling their fighters 'terrorists' ISIS suicide bomber detonates near army position in north Iraq A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces on Monday announced the arrest of eight suspected Islamic State (ISIS) members across three provinces as Baghdad continues cracking down on jihadist remnants in the country. Military intelligence forces 'carried out several preemptive operations in various areas of the Anbar, Nineveh, and Maysan province,' state media reported, in which 'eight suspects were arrested who belong to ISIS terrorist gangs.' They were arrested under Article Four of the Counter-Terrorism Law of 2005, which says that anyone found guilty of committing a terror offense is given a death sentence, with life imprisonment given to those who assist or hide those convicted of terrorism. ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. Iraqi security forces have intensified their operations against ISIS cells in recent months, particularly in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil which stretch across the Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Nineveh, and Diyala provinces. Iraq's air force also frequently carries our airstrikes against ISIS hideouts in the disputed territories. In late February, the head of Iraq's Security Media Cell told Rudaw that Iraqi security forces have largely eradicated ISIS from the country, with only a few hundred militants remaining in remote areas.
