After a weeklong journey on foot, the first group of members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) heading toward the Iraqi-Turkish border arrived early today [May 14], and entered the Kurdistan region of Iraq through the border town of Harur in the province of Dohuk. The PKK members went in response to the call of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in the Turkish Imrali prison, following a peace process between the Turkish government and Ocalan, raising the ire of the Iraqi government.
This group comprising nine men and six women is the first to withdraw from Turkey and head to Iraq in response to the call of Ocalan to retreat from the Turkey. Upon the group’s arrival, an official welcoming ceremony was held by their fellow PKK members who are based, with their leadership, in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
