Kurdish Parties Build Alliance To Curb Barzani’s Power in Syria
On the eve of elections in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Kurdish question in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria becomes even more entangled.
Two of the biggest Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), have joined forces to try to curb the power of Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region, in Syria. This is happening while Barzani has been working together with Turkey to limit the PKK's influence in Syria.
Relations between Kurdish political parties from Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria have always been tense. This is the result of the Kurdish areas being divided between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, meaning Kurds are not united geographically. The different policies of Kurdish parties allegedly played a role in the delay of the National Kurdish Congress that was supposed to take place in September, but is now delayed until Nov. 25.
