A leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Murat Karayılan, has promised to withdraw his troops from the Sinjar area in northern Iraq, saying that he will be continuing negotiations with the region's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
PKK field commander Karayılan said on Kurdish network Sterk TV, “There is already a discussion going on among us. We already declared that after those discussions are concluded we will pull our forces as HPG ( the People’s Defense Forces, one of the PKK's armed wings). I make this public for the first time here.” Sinjar, Kurdish and Yazidi populated city in northern Iraq was recaptured from the Islamic State by Kurdish-led forces in November 2015. Since then dominance of the city and the existence of the PKK in Sinjer is a debate topic. Turkey, Iraqi Kurdish forces and Iraqi forces are disturbed that HPG is recruiting in region.
"The period we are in is an important period in which the fate of our people will be determined. At such a time, the unity of the Kurdish people is more valuable than ever. Therefore, we want to solve all existing problems with dialogue," Karayılan said in a statement.
Karayılan outlined the importance of national unity and stressed that it was in the Kurdish people's best interest to build that unity without wasting the "blood of the martyrs".
The PKK leader added that the Kurdistan Workers Party and the KDP have been conducting ongoing negotiations on the subject of the former's presence in Sinjar and that PKK was ready to leave the area at the conclusion of the talks.
