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MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

Kurdish oil flows

halted after

pipeline attack

An attack on northern Iraq’s key oil pipeline has seen the
Kurdistan region halt exports completely as political tensions rise.

IRAQ THE Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between Erbil and Baghdad on the political
in Erbil announced over the weekend that it had status of the mountainous Sinjar region near
halted oil exports following an attack on a pipe- the Syrian border, ending the PKK’s presence in
WHAT: line carrying crude to the Turkish border and the region. The agreement was signed under the
The attack has taken the onwards to the port of Ceyhan. auspices of the United Nations and was backed
Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline In a statement, the KRG said that it “strongly by Western countries and Turkey, but the PKK is
out of operation. condemns the terrorist attack targeting the pipe- doing its best to undermine the deal.
line which exports oil from Kurdistan Region … Indeed, the pipeline attack follows the killing
WHY: resulting in the suspension of oil exports”. The of Kurdish peshmerga commander Gazi Salih
The PKK has claimed attack took place on October 28. Ilhan in Dohuk last month. Ilhan had been in
responsibility for the The KRG added that it “believes that these charge of the Serzer border crossing between
attack as tensions with acts only further destabilise the situation in Iraq and Turkey.
the ruling KDP grow. the region. An investigation has already been Speaking to TRT this week, Anadolu Agency
launched to determine those behind the attack”. correspondent in Erbil, Bekir Aydogan, said:
WHAT NEXT: While no suspects have yet been named “The latest attack to the pipeline, which the PKK
The export halt is actually in association with the attack, Iraq Oil Report has already taken responsibility for, has evoked
favourable for Baghdad, quoted anonymous sources as saying that the a possibility that tensions between the PKK and
which has struggled to KRG suspects that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party the KRG could turn into a violent conflict.”
comply with OPEC+ (PKK) was involved. The PKK later claimed
targets.. responsibility for the attack. Location
This will serve to further heighten tensions No official information has been provided about
between the group and the ruling Kurdistan the location of the attack, though it is confirmed
Democratic Party (KDP). The key issue of con- to have taken place on the main Kirkuk-Cey-
tention at present appears to be an agreement han pipeline (also known as the Iraq-Turkey

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 04•November•2020