Iraqi officials in Ninawa and Erbil have revealed that elements of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have dug new tunnels in the heart of Mount Shingal in western Mosul, and that the party's gunmen have made clear moves in the area, according to Middle East News.
Observers believe that these measures will strengthen the party elements in Shingal, which will prevent the implementation of the agreement to normalize the situation in the city.
So far, no progress has been made in the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil to normalize the situation with the aim of expelling all armed groups from the city and returning the displaced to their original areas. Iraqi officials, one of whom works in the governorate of Ninawa, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that elements of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have brought tunneling specialists from Hasaka, Syria, to Iraq and have dug many tunnels.
Noting that the PKK is taking advantage of political and security incidents between Baghdad and Erbil, they said at least 20 new tunnels had been dug in the heart of Mount Shingal to provide strongholds for party elements.
Iraqi officials said the move indicates that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has no plans to withdraw from the city and is planning to turn the area into a refuge, especially given that a number of party leaders and families have recently been transferred from Syria to the Kurdistan Region, Shingal and the nearby vicinity.
Another official in Erbil revealed that one of the new PKK headquarters in Mount Shingal has become a field hospital for the treatment of its wounded forces in the conflict with Turkey.
He said the recent PKK movements in Shingal would turn the region into another Qandil (referring to the Qandil Mountains on the Turkish-Iranian border, which is the main PKK headquarter).
On the other hand, Mahma Khalil, the Shingal governor, said in a telephone conversation with Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that this information is unfortunately reliable and that Baghdad is aware of it.
He said the PKK continues to dig tunnels and change the geography of Mount Shingal and many inaccessible areas to make it a safe heavon and new refuge.
Khalil noted that one of the Kurdistan Workers' Party's strategic plans is to stay in the region for a long time, and that although the Iraqi central government and the KRG have signed an agreement to normalize the situation in Shingal, it has not been effective.
Majid Shingali, a leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), also told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that the PKK was planning to seize Shingal and had dug new tunnels, some of which could allow cars to enter and people live there.
According to him, they want Mount Shingal to be a new focal point for them, because Shingal has a very important geopolitical dimension and is located near the Syrian- Iraq border and has natural strongholds.
Biston Rasool, an expert on Kurdish issues, called the new move by PKK elements a natural result of the failure to implement the Shingal agreement, saying that hundreds of PKK members were in Shingal and did not intend to leave.
He described the vast economic benefits through the smuggling of oil, agricultural products and animal wealth, etc., as well as the security and economic benefits as the reasons behind the PKK presence in the region, which is links Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
It is worth mentioning that the spokesman of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said recently that the situation in Shingal is under control, which was met with a reaction from Kurdish officials, who responded that the field situation was completely different from what the spokesman states.
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