Kurdish PKK fighters may retreat to Iran as Turkish military closes in

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Kurdish PKK fighters may retreat to Iran as Turkish military closes in
Kurdish PKK fighters may retreat to Iran as Turkish military closes in

Africa-Press – Ghana. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is vowing to crush the presence of the Kurdish militant group PKK in Iraq. But as the Turkish military closes in on the group, some analysts predict its fighters could turn to Iran, with implications across the region.

Turkish forces, backed by jets and drones, are driving the PKK Kurdish militant group from its bases across Iraqi Kurdistan. For decades, the mountainous region has provided the PKK a sanctuary to launch attacks in its battle for greater minority rights across the border in Turkey.

With Erdogan claiming to have the support of local Iraqi Kurdish forces, the PKK’s once deemed impregnable headquarters in the Qandil mountains is now the target of Turkish troops.

“The politicians have to speak with symbols,” said Aydin Selcen, the former head of Turkey’s consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan.

“When you say Qandil is our ultimate target or aim, whatever, it means that the ultimate step is to stop the PKK from existing altogether.”

Mountain headquarters

The PKK bases in the Qandil mountains border Iran, a rival of Turkey.

As the Turkish military steps up its offensive, some analysts suggest the PKK could turn to Iran for support. Despite having its own restive Kurdish minority, Tehran has in the past found common ground with the PKK, whose influence extends to Iraqi and Syrian Kurds.

“Iran supported PKK in the 80s and 90s very strongly,” says Huseyin Bagci, president of the Foreign Policy Institute, a research organisation in Ankara.

“And now when Russians are out of the scene, not so strong, and probably Iran will take their place and the PKK and PYD, of course, they will try to use PKK as a leverage in their relations with Turkey.”

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