“We will not participate in or support a fight in which Kurdish blood is shed by Kurds,” Sheikh Jangi said during a meeting with Peshmerga commanders.
According to NRT his statements come after two attacks in recent days in Duhok where Peshmerga affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) were killed.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of responsibility, which it has denied.
On Saturday, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who is a member of the KDP, called on all the parties in the Kurdistan Region to “speak in a single voice” against attacks on the Peshmerga, while other KDP members have said that the PKK should be forced out of the Region if it does not withdraw.
This tense dynamic is particularly troubling for many Kurds, who see it as approaching a serious intra-Kurdish conflict. Known as “Brakuji,” which translates as fratricide, that kind of violence is generally seen as a redline that should not be crossed.
So far, the PUK has said little about the incidents in Duhok, with senior officials only addressing it indirectly or calling for calm.
Sheikh Jangi also reaffirmed his party’s readiness to unite the Peshmerga and to have a single national armed force to protect the land and the people of the Region.
The Peshmerga is infamously divided, with units controlled separately by the PUK and the KDP.
The leaders of those parties frequently say they want Peshmerga reform and unification, but do little to implement plans to that effect developed in coordination with the Kurdistan Region’s foreign partners, including the US, UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.
Reporter's code: 50101