Türkiye closes airspace to Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah, cites PKK presence

Turkey based its decision on the alleged increase in PKK-linked activity in the northern Iraqi city.

Turkey has closed its airspace to planes taking off and landing in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah, citing what it said was an increased presence of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters, according to a spokesman. from your Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The closure, announced on Wednesday, began the same day and will continue until July 3 with the possibility of an extension, the spokesman said, adding that there was a PKK “infiltration” at the Sulaymaniyah airport.

Airport director Handren al Mufti said the airport had received an email from Turkish Airlines on Monday saying its flights that day and the next were cancelled, before a later email extended the suspension until April 11. .

“I can assure everyone that we do not have any security problems and not a single security breach incident occurred inside the airport, but apparently there are other purposes behind your decision,” he told the Mufti.

The decision comes weeks after two helicopters crashed in northern Iraq, killing Syrian Democratic Forces fighters on board.

The SDF is largely made up of the YPG, which Turkey says is the Syrian wing of the PKK. The incident fueled claims that the PKK was in possession of helicopters, angering Turkish authorities.

This is not the first time that Turkey has closed its airspace to and from the northern Iraqi city, after imposing a similar prohibition from 2017 to 2019.

The PKK and the Turkish state have been locked in conflict since the 1980s. Turkey, the United States and the European Union have blacklisted the movement as a “terrorist” group.

In recent years, Turkey has carried out numerous operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, where the group has bases. The most recent operation began in april last year and it continues despite the opposition of the Iraqi central government in Baghdad.

Civilians have been caught up in the fighting, especially in July, when eight tourists were killed in a Turkish air raid.

Ankara has close ties to the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the largest party in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The party is dominant in the regional capital, Erbil. Its rival, the Kurdistan Patriotic Union, has closer ties to the PKK and is dominant in Sulaimaniyah.