Fight against IS helps PKK gain global legitimacy
Western officials say that given the Islamic State threat, it is only a matter of time before their governments initiate formal ties with the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Democratic Union Party, despite objections from Turkey.
As the United States presses ahead with assembling an international coalition to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State (IS), two potentially critical players are coming to the fore: the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its Syrian Kurdish franchise, the People’s Protection Units (YPG). Their ascent has been amply chronicled by Al-Monitor columnist Kadri Gursel and Al-Monitor contributor Mohamed A. Salih.
The PKK and YPG have proven to be the most effective forces in the battle against IS both in Iraq and in Syria, never so much as when they shepherded tens of thousands of Yazidi Kurds marooned on Mount Sinjar, in northwestern Iraq, to safety and helped Iraqi peshmerga retake the town of Makhmour.
