If the PKK does not leave Sinjar, we will use force: Barzani

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani commented on the occupation of Sinjar by the PKK.

“If necessary, we will use force,” said Barzani, prompting the PKK terrorist organization to leave Sinjar, a town in Iraq's northern Nineveh province 30 kms from the Syrian border.

“The PKK's presence in Sinjar is causing instability in the region. One of the reasons for not being able to reconstruct the Sinjar region is the PKK's presence there,” Barzani continued.

Barzani voiced his concerns for the safety of Sinjar's people: “The people of Sinjar have doubts about their future. They do not know what they will face when they return to the area. They are afraid of encountering another conflict. The PKK needs to understand; they need to leave the region for the sake of the people.”

When asked if he would use force to drive out the PKK if they refused to leave, Barzani answered “yes.”

Baghdad's stipends to PKK in Sinjar might have been cut

“The PKK is not the only terrorist organization in the region, Baghdad and other actors are also active. The PKK and Sinjar Resistance Units are being used as a trump card against Turkey and the Kurdistan Region.

When asked whether Baghdad, from being presured by the U.S., had cut its stipends to the Sinjar Resistance Units (YPŞ), Barzani replied:

"We are in constant contact with Baghdad. To this day, they have not taken any serious steps to make the PKK withdraw from Sinjar. Personally, I cannot say anything definitive about whether or not the stipends to the Sinjar Resistance Units were cut. Whoever holds the trump card, it is not being used in favor of Ankara, Baghdad or the Kurdistan Region," he concluded.