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Iraqi Kurdish party pushes PKK aside

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan has placed restrictions on the activities of the Kurdistan Workers Party in the areas it controls.
Kurdish supporters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) celebrate after the closing of ballot boxes during the parliamentary election in Kirkuk, Iraq, May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC1D42ED63F0

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraqi Kurdistan — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the largest Kurdish parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, has increased the pressure on outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) following Washington’s decision to authorize bounties on its three leaders.

“The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is putting heavy pressure on us. I think we may soon have to leave entire Sulaimaniyah area,” said an official from Tevgera Azadi (Freedom Movement) that is, according to the PUK, the political wing of the outlawed PKK in Sulaimaniyah, where the PUK is in political control.

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