Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah bans groups accused of PKK links

BAGHDAD

Authorities in the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah have banned four organizations accused of affiliation with the PKK terrorist organizations.

The four organizations include two feminist groups and a media production house.

PKK terrorists have several strongholds in Iraq's northern autonomous region, controlled by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), which also hosts Turkish military bases used to strike the terrorist targets.

Ankara and Washington both deem PKK a terrorist organization, which is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terror aimed at establishing a so-called Kurdish self-rule. The group also occupies Sinjar and Makhmour.

Authorities in Sulaymaniyah, the Iraqi Kurdish region's second city, have been accused of leniency toward PKK activities.

Türkiye often criticizes PKK’s gaining footing in Sulaymaniyah and warns that “further measures” would be taken if the city’s administration continues to tolerate terrorists.

But the Iraqi federal authorities in Baghdad have recently sharpened their tone against the PKK terrorists.