Representative killed in armed attack on Kurdistan National Congress office

The representative office of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in Erbil (Hewler) in the Kurdish region of Iraq was the target of an armed attack on Monday. According to local reports, the attack claimed the life of KNK representative Deniz Cevdet Bülbün, who was in the office at the time of the attack.

The building where the attack took place was reportedly blockaded by security forces, preventing journalists from entering the scene. Speaking to Medya Haber TV, journalist Mervan Özdemir said that journalists had not been able to reach the scene of the incident due to restrictions on the free press imposed by the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and that they therefore did not yet have detailed information. Özdemir also said that some members of the Erbil branch of the KNK had been detained by KDP-affiliated law enforcement officials. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has not yet issued a statement.

KNK statement

The KNK made a statement for the assassinated representative Deniz Cevdet Bülbün. The statement reads: “One of our KNK members was murdered in a dastardly attack at the KNK South Kurdistan Representative Office in Hewler at 1.30pm today. We strongly condemn this terrorist act. We demand that the government of the Kurdistan region and the relevant parties immediately reveal the killers of our comrade Deniz and fulfill their security responsibilities towards our members and our office.”

The YSP stated that it will not allow the massacres against the Kurdish people to become common and normalized and stressed that it will continue to struggle against the war bloc that wants to deepen the Kurdish question with attacks.

The KNK was founded in 1999 as a coalition of Kurdish political parties and organizations. It aims to strengthen Kurdish national unity and promote cooperation between political parties. The headquarters of the organization is located in Brussels.