Tensions between the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP) and the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) have peaked amid allegations that a US-backed PKK-backed Syrian military militia attacked Iraqi Kurdish forces in Peshmerga on Tuesday.

Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq, issued a statement saying a large group of YPG fighters had attacked Peshmerga units using heavy weapons. The YPG is the dominant force in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“I call on our friends and colleagues in the World Coalition to ensure that the YPG does not repeat this act of aggression. The YPG cannot be allowed to use foreign aid to launch attacks on our territory.”

He even warned that “Any repetition would be seriously detrimental to regional security.”