YNK’s Media advisor: Sulaymaniyah shelling is egregious violation against Iraqi sovereignty

On April 7, Sulaymaniyah International Airport was attacked by a drone belonging to the Turkish occupation state, in conjunction with the passage of a convoy that included the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, and American officers who were with him, according to what was reported by the US Central Command spokesman, Colonel Joe Buccino, and the bombing did not result in any casualties or injuries.

This comes a few days after the Turkish occupation state announced the closure of its airspace to warplanes flying to and from Sulaymaniyah Airport, which observers considered one of Ankara's goals behind the closure decision.

The bombing of Sulaymaniyah Airport sparked widespread condemnation by Iraqi and Kurdish parties and forces, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan described the attack as an "intelligence plot planned in advance by internal and external parties."

While the Iraqi presidency called on the Turkish government to "take responsibility, make an official apology for these actions, and stop these attacks."

on his part. The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, condemned, in a tweet on Twitter, saying: "We strongly condemn the targeting of Sulaymaniyah Airport by Turkey. These violations continue in Iraq and Syria and have dangerous dimensions against the region."

"a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Iraq and the region"

The media advisor of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Burhan Sheikh Raouf, described the Turkish bombing of Sulaymaniyah airport as: "a flagrant and blatant violation of the sovereignty of Iraq and the Kurdistan region." Iraq and the Kurdistan region, given that Iraq is an independent state and a member of the United Nations and interferes in Iraqi internal affairs, because Sulaymaniyah airport is an official civil airport for a city and governorate in Iraq and the Kurdistan region that performs its work, and it is not within the powers of the Turkish state to determine who visits Sulaymaniyah and who receives Sulaymaniyah.

Raouf stressed: "This is aggression, arrogance, and disrespect for good neighborliness between Iraq and Turkey, despite the existence of large economic and trade relations and huge amounts amounting to 20 billion dollars. This requires Turkey to respect the sovereignty of Iraq and the Iraqis, and not attack it."

The Kurdistan Democratic Party justified the attack

Instead of condemning the attack clearly and explicitly, the spokesman for the Hewler government, Jutiar Adel, attributed the attack on Sulaymaniyah airport to: "using it in illegal activities," in a paradox that observers considered as a justification for the bombing and attacks of the Turkish occupation on Iraqi territory.

Regarding the position of the Kurdistan Democratic Party on this attack, Raouf said: "The Kurdistan Democratic Party condemned the attack, but in a manner that satisfies the Turkish side. It justified what the Turkish state did and the Turkish attack on Sulaymaniyah airport, and gave justifications that it has the right to strike the city of Sulaymaniyah and Sulaymaniyah airport, and this came as the spokesman for the Hewler government said regarding the attack on Sulaymaniyah airport.

Raouf added, "We in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan rejected their statement, and said that it does not represent the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG. We represent half of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Deputy Prime Minister, the ministerial blocs, and the Patriotic Union boycotted the sessions of the Kurdistan Regional Council of Ministers for months, due to the existence of deep differences with the Kurdistan Democratic Party."

The SDF played an honorable role in combating terrorism

Regarding the timing of the targeting, Raouf noted: "Targeting Sulaymaniyah airport in southern Kurdistan at the moment Mr. Mazlum Kobani crossed is a message to the leader of the SDF and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. What the leader Kobani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan are doing to combat ISIS injustice and combat terrorism and extremism in the region is a legal and constitutional matter with the knowledge of the International Coalition considering that both forces are members of the international and International Coalition to combat terrorism in the world, and they have an honorable role over the past years, and this is not something outside the law and international norms. Everyone knows that the SDF and the Peshmerga were among the important forces participating in the fight against terrorism, especially the SDF in Syria, which liberated The city of Raqqa is the capital of the Islamic State, and the caliphate was destroyed in Syria and Iraq at the hands of the Peshmerga.

The attack will not affect our support for Rojava

Regarding the implications of the bombing, Raouf stated: “The Turkish targeting has many meanings and implications. Sulaymaniyah is the city of sacrifice and redemption, and it has a long history in combating dictatorship, injustice and setting an example in the Kurdish national struggle at the level of Kurdistan as a whole. The attack on Sulaymaniyah is an attack on all Kurds and all Kurdish cities in All its parts and this crime and aggression will not affect the performance of Sulaymaniyah and the leaders of Sulaymaniyah and the militant parties in Sulaymaniyah in supporting the just cause in Rojava Kurdistan.

Raouf pointed out that: "The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has a long history of supporting the Kurdish parties and forces and parts of Kurdistan, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan considers itself a representative of all the Kurds in Iraq, and Turkish pressures and any other forces will not affect it, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan continues its national approach drawn by the late President Mam Jalal throughout his long and honorable history.

The media advisor to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Burhan Sheikh Raouf, stressed that the Iraqi government should take: "From the highest levels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense, legal, political and diplomatic measures to deter this aggression and the barbaric Turkish assault on the sovereignty of Iraq and the city of Sulaymaniyah, and this needs important immediate measures at all levels." And the use of all channels in international forums to stop the repeated Turkish interference.

T/ Satt.

ANHA