Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government Urges PKK Withdrawal

The Kurdish regional government in Iraq on Saturday called for Kurdish militants fighting Turkey to withdraw from its territory to avoid civilian casualties.



In a statement on its website, the government urged the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - whose bases in the Qandil mountains have been targeted by recent Turkish airstrikes - to withdraw.



"[The] PKK should withdraw from the region so that civilians in the Kurdish region will not be the victims of the clashes," the statement said. "[The] PKK should keep the battlefield out of the region. Continuation of the battle mostly harms civilians."



The government also condemned the Turkish airstrikes, which it said had caused civilian casualties. "We condemn these airstrikes and call on Turkey not to repeat attacks against civilians," the statement said.



The airstrikes against the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and U.S., were launched last week in conjunction with raids on Daesh militants in Syria.



The Kurdish regional government in Iraq has close ties to Ankara and previously sold oil from its territory through Turkey. On Friday, it condemned a PKK attack on an oil pipeline running from Kirkuk to Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.



On Saturday, one of Iraq's main Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, also condemned Wednesday's pipeline attack in Turkey's southeastern Sirnak province. - Ankara