KDP and PUK Launch Vicious Blame Game Over Devastating Fires

As the Kurdistan Regional Parliamentary elections approach, the PUK and KDP have started hurling accusations at each other, with recent fires in Erbil and Duhok becoming a contentious point of blame.

In recent months, a series of fires have ravaged areas in Erbil and Duhok, sparking allegations of deliberate arson. Brave Kurdish activists and journalists have been vocal from the beginning, suggesting these fires were intentional. Journalists and activists were, claiming, “These incidents are to impose safety insurance by the government for their own companies.”

After months of investigation, and with the Kurdistan Regional Parliamentary elections slated for October 20, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) launched its first media offensive. The KDP accused the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of orchestrating the fires that devastated the Qaiseri market in Erbil and other areas in Duhok.

Kamal Rauf, a writer and journalist for Standard Media Agency, criticized these accusations, arguing, “Accusing two Kurdish parties of burning markets is legitimizing the Turkish invasion and attack on Sulaymaniyah.”

According to Kurdfile, both ruling parties in the Kurdistan Region seem willing to resort to any tactics, no matter how unscrupulous, to undermine the other. These fires have caused millions of dollars in damage to traders and citizens, with no compensation in sight.

This political mudslinging, devoid of any human and moral principles, only exacerbates the region’s woes, showing a disregard for the well-being of the Kurdish people as the PUK and KDP prioritize their own political gains over the public good.