PKK presence in Sinjar, Iraq, must end: Turkish envoy

By Idiris Okuduci, Bekir Aydogan and Heman Hussein Yaseen

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) - The presence of the PKK terror group in the Sinjar district of northern Nineveh province must be removed, Turkey's consul-general in Erbil told reporters Tuesday.

Hakan Karacay visited Iraq's Duhok province to congratulate the newly elected religious leader of the local Ezidi community, Ali Ilyas.

He said Ezidis escaped Sinjar and took refuge in Duhok after Daesh/ISIS took control of the region, but the community is unable to return because of attacks and oppression by the PKK and the terror group's extensions in the region.

"The PKK terror group and its extensions under various names are the sources of the problems in the region," according to Karacay, who said Turkey is determined to provide various humanitarian aid to the Ezidi community.

Iraqi security forces started to implement a deployment plan earlier Tuesday in the center of Sinjar district to enhance stability and security in the area that will enable those displaced to return home.

The Sinjar deal, inked under the auspices of the UN in October between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on the status of the region, envisages clearing the region of the PKK terrorists.

The PKK terror organization managed to establish a foothold in Sinjar in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the Ezidi community from the Daesh/ISIS terror group.

Some 450,000 Ezidis escaped Sinjar after Daesh/ISIS took control of the region.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara