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Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2020 5:01 pm
Author: Anthea
Turkish army bolsters
positions in Kurdistan


The Turkish army has established five new outposts in the Kurdistan Region, the mayor of Darkar district in Zakho said on Monday

Turkey has recently stepped up a military campaign targeting Kurdish rebels that has drawn condemnation from Iraqi officials.

Darkar mayor Zerevan Musa said Turkey flew in troops on helicopters and established the outposts on mountains near the villages of Sharanish and Banka, near the Turkish border.

Musa added that the Turks have gone more than 30 kilometres deep into Iraqi territory, in different areas across the Kurdistan Region

Several Turkish airstrikes have hit farms and other sites around Sharanish and Banka villages.

A recent video showed smoke from the airstrikes, and what from a distance appeared to be Turkish troops on a mountainside.

"We demand from both sides, the Turkish government and PKK militants, to keep their fight away from us and leave us alone. We have suffered enough throughout history," said local villager Qadir Sharanshi.

Turkey launched an air and ground offensive into the border region this month in a campaign to root out the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara maintains has bases in the Kurdistan Region.

Five civilians have been killed in various airstrikes as part of Operation Claw-Eagle.

Turkey regularly carries out air and ground attacks against the PKK in the Region.

The offensives have emptied scores of villages in the border area.

Ankara says neither the Iraqi government nor the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have taken measures to combat the group.

Reporting by Associated Press

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/30062020

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:43 pm
Author: Anthea
Turkey ups bases 50 percent

Turkish bases in Kurdistan Region increased by 50 percent in two weeks: Kurdish In the Zakho sub-districts of Batifa and Darkar, the roar of Turkish aircraft has become a daily occurrence

Turkey's air campaign (Operation Claw-Eagle), stated to be against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets, has been ongoing since June 15. The campaign has sparked fear among populations across the Zakho, Akre and Amedi districts of Duhok province.

"Bombs and airstrikes aren't stopping," Batifa villager Arif Marouf said. "We are calling on relevant authorities in the KRG to find a solution for this conflict. We urge the PKK in the mountains not to transfer their conflict to our [populated] areas."

According to intelligence information obtained by Rudaw, from 1983 to mid-June 2020, Turkey established military bases in 24 strategic locations in the areas of Kani Masi, Deralok and Shiladze. In that period, Turkey has taken control of nearly 60 villages in Duhok province, according to the intelligence source.

In this latest major air and ground offensive, Turkey has crossed into an area 40-50 kilometers long and 15 kilometers deep, and into Batifa sub-district.

Up until June 15, there were 24 Turkish military bases on Kurdistan Region land, the intelligence source told Rudaw. In the just over two weeks since Claw-Eagle was launched, another 12 military bases have been established.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/02072020

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 10:43 pm
Author: Anthea
Turkish offensive in Kurdistan Region

The spokesperson for Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi condemned Ankara for its ongoing military operation across the north of the country in a strongly worded statement released Saturday evening

"We strongly reject and condemn these actions that harm the close, long-standing relations between the two friendly nations," Ahmed Mulla Talal wrote in a statement published to Telegram, urging for an "immediate" halt to Ankara's offensive.

Turkey began fresh air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories in mid-June, with the stated aim of removing suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets from the area. Five civilians have been confirmed killed by Turkish airstrikes.

Talal described Turkey's offensive as "detrimental" to "regional peace," accusing Ankara of violating Iraqi sovereignty.

Iraq's foreign ministry previously summoned the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad, but has failed to halt Turkey's offensive.

The spokesperson says Iraq has already sent two letters to Turkey's ambassador to Iraq, and says Baghdad will be forced to resort to “international law” to stop Ankara.

"We hold the Turkish side responsible for the legal and moral responsibility for all the human and material losses that occur,” he added.

Turkey's offensive, according to the statement, violates "the stability, territorial integrity and security of the [Iraqi] people."

Scores of villages in the Kurdistan Region border areas have been emptied amid years of Turkish airstrikes.

In a statement released last Friday, the Turkish defense ministry denied that its military has ever harmed civilians, and said it only targets "terrorists."

UN officials have already voiced concern that Iraq has not raised the issue of Turkish airstrikes with the UN Security Council.

"On the Turkish-Iraqi conflict, we see this with concern. There has not been a demand for this item to be on the agenda of the security council," Christoph Heusgen, German Ambassador to the United Nations told Rudaw.

The US State Department last week called for coordination between Turkey, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to "defeat" the PKK, an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey.

"The United States calls on Turkey and Iraq, including the KRG, to work together to defeat the PKK," a spokesperson told Rudaw late Wednesday.

Iraqi border forces in Zakho have set up bases in "strategic" positions in order to de-escalate clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/040720201

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:11 am
Author: Anthea
Lack of action on Turkish airstrikes

UN officials have voiced concern that Iraq has not raised the issue of Turkish airstrikes with the UN Security Council

"On the Turkish-Iraqi conflict, we see this with concern. There has not been a demand for this item to be on the agenda of the security council," Christoph Heusgen, German Ambassador to the United Nations, told Rudaw.

Turkey began fresh air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and disputed territories in mid-June, with the stated aim of removing suspected Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) targets from the area. Five civilians have been confirmed killed by Turkish airstrikes.

According to information obtained by Rudaw's Majeed Gly, Iraq has just sent one letter to the security council since the start of the operations, which only detailed the time and places of the Turkey's bombardments.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, has called for de-escalation in the border areas and affirmed “support” for Iraq’s sovereignty.

"We have always been very supportive of the territorial integrity of Iraq," Dujarric said.

In a question from Gly last week, Gutteres was not ready to declare his position on the Turkish operation.

Iraq’s foreign ministry has previously summoned the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad but this has failed to halt Turkey's offensive.

The US State Department last week called for coordination between Turkey, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to “defeat” the PKK, an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey.

"The United States calls on Turkey and Iraq, including the KRG, to work together to defeat the PKK," a spokesperson told Rudaw late Wednesday.

According to intelligence information obtained by Rudaw, from 1983 to mid-June 2020, Turkey has established military bases in 24 strategic locations in Duhok province.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/world/040720201

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2020 1:02 am
Author: Anthea
Iraqi border force bases

New Iraqi border force bases on the Kurdistan Region-Turkey border are in part successfully preventing the spillover of a currently heightened Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-Turkey conflict into towns and villages, a commander said on Thursday

Speaking to Rudaw's Dildar Harki, Iraqi Border Guards Force One commander Dler Farzanda said that the establishment of three new bases in Zakho's Darkar and Batifa sub-district has made locals "very happy", by preventing PKK-Turkey clashes from spilling into populated areas from the more isolated mountains.

Turkey's military began air and ground operations in the Kurdistan Region in mid-June, with the stated aim of targeting PKK positions in the area. Five civilians have been killed by Turkish airstrikes since the aerial operation began. Residents of Duhok province villages have left for the safety of nearby towns and cities in fear of airstrikes and clashes.

Iraq's border forces mobilized to set up bases in five “strategic” positions in Zakho, a commander told press last Thursday, in an effort to de-escalate PKK-Turkey clashes in the region. Farzanda told Rudaw English on Wednesday that all personnel at these positions are Kurds.

The KRG's interior ministry deployed Zeravani Peshmerga to Duhok's Mount Matin on Tuesday amid intensified Turkish bombing against suspected PKK positions in the region, Peshmerga chief of staff Jamal Iminiki told Rudaw.

Farzanda says they have informed Turkey of their new positions so that their troops are not mistaken for the PKK in the region by Ankara.

He said that neither the PKK nor Turkey have yet approached their positions, but warned retaliation if they were to do so.

This interview has been edited for length and clarit
y.

Rudaw: Where are your border guards stationed?

Dler Farzanda: As the Iraqi Border Guards Force One, our troops were already stationed at 60 different positions across the Duhok province border lines, stretching from the [Iraq-Syria-Kurdistan Region] triangle border area of Fishkhabur to Gali Balinda [near Shiladze, at the border with Turkey]. Following [Turkey's] operation, we have deployed and stationed troops in three new locations, in Darkar and Batifa sub-districts [in Zakho district] due to developments in the region since July 1.

Have the troop deployments reduced Turkey's bombardment, or stopped their activity in the region?

Border Force One's troop deployments have been influential, and have made locals in the area very happy. They have helped prevent conflict between Turkey's army and PKK fighters from spilling deeper into populated areas.

To how many kilometers in depth has Turkey entered Kurdistan Region land so far?

I would say in Zakho, they have entered 10 to 15 kilometers deep into the sub-districts of Darkar and Batife. They are also 15 kilometers deep into Kurdistan, via the ranges of Mount Khanter.

Why are you not deploying more troops to the border areas?

We as Border Force One started the first phase of troop stationing based on what our capabilities were. We found it important to station our troops in the aforementioned areas, to bring them under our control.

At this stage, we are monitoring developments in the area. If needed, and if ordered to do so by our superiors, we will relocate some of the forces to control more areas.

Have your superiors informed Turkey of your troop deployments, so that you are not mistakenly targeted by their warplanes?

Yes we informed the Turkish interior ministry of our movements at the very beginning. We informed them of our destinations. No problem has yet been created for us by the Turkish side.

A Peshmerga Zeravani force has been stationed on Mount Matin, in Amedi. Are you communicating amongst yourselves?

The first line of Iraq's borders fall under the jurisdiction of Iraq's border forces. The second line, designed to support the first, is associated with the federal defense ministry, to support them with anything they need.

The Kurdistan Region has its Peshmerga ministry - part of the Iraqi security forces, according to the constitution. Therefore, it is to be expected that the Peshmerga forces will be on the second line. Whenever we need each other, good coordination will be made. Whenever we need support, we will definitely ask for it from the Peshmerga forces.

There are reports that an Iraqi border force guard has been wounded in a landmine explosion. Are those reports correct?

Unfortunately, a border guard on duty was wounded after triggering a landmine dating to Saddam Hussein's regime, at the Siyarabana observation post near Batifa sub-district. He was rushed to hospital. His health is stable. We wish him a speedy recovery.

What order are you given to respond, in case Turkish forces approach you?

It has not yet happened. If it does, we will react and execute any orders given to respond by our superiors.

What about PKK fighters? What orders do you have to respond to them if they approach?

The PKK has not approached our points yet either. They have not attacked our bases. If they do, we will repel them. And our response will be strong. We do not wish for that to happen. As border guards, we are entitled to go wherever need be, if we are told to.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/interview/09072020

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2020 10:09 pm
Author: Anthea
Turkish bombs damage
homes in Duhok’s Amedi


Turkish artillery pounded Bedihe village in Duhok province on Saturday, causing damage to civilian homes and lands, a local official told Rudaw

"The bombing started around 6pm. They have so far targeted the village with six mortars, causing damage to 10 households," Sarbast Sabri, head of nearby Kani Masi town in the Amedi region of Duhok province, told Rudaw. "The artillery has also damaged groves and orchards of locals in the area."

Turkey began air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq's disputed territories in mid-June, with the stated aim of removing suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets from the area. Five civilians have been killed during the offensive.

According to Sabri, "this is the first time that Turkey has targeted inside the village."

"Since morning, we have been hearing the roar of surveillance planes," he added.

Last week, Turkish warplanes bombed areas surroundings Bedihe village, causing no material damage. Of the five civilians casualties since Turkey began its operation, four of them were killed in the Amedi area. Many villages in Duhok province have been partially or fully vacated as the local population has fled.

In an attempt at de-escalation, Iraqi border forces have set up several bases along border and the Kurdistan Region’s Interior Ministry deployed Zeravani Peshmerga to Duhok's Mount Matin last week.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/110720203

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:24 pm
Author: Anthea
Heavy Turkish bombardment
in three Zakho villages


Turkey’s air force heavily bombarded three villages in Zakho town’s Batifa subdistrict late Wednesday, dropping dozens of bombs on the area, according to local officials

Dlsher Abdulsattar, the mayor of Batifa subdistrict in Duhok province’s Zakho told Rudaw that Turkey has been bombing the area since midday, but the bombardment intensified during the evening. He estimates that some 50 bombs fell on the abandoned villages of Avla and Pirbla, while some 25 others hit the nearby village of Sila.

Biladi Salih, mukhtar of Avla, confirmed to Rudaw that his village was hit by airstrikes Wednesday.

Turkey began air and ground military operations in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq's disputed territories a month ago, with the stated aim of removing suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets from the area.

A number of villages in Zakho have been abandoned and some others have been partially vacated.

Avla was abandoned on Friday after Turkey dropped 26 bombs on the village, hitting five houses. There were no casualties, with the five families residing in the houses out that day. They later opted to flee their homes.

Abdullah Osman is from Avla. He and his family of six fled their village on Friday. Now, he is staying in Zakho with his son.

Turkey “began bombarding the village in the evening [on Friday] and we all fled it,” he told Rudaw on Wednesday.

The Batifa subdistrict is made up of 27 villages, and borders Turkey. At least thirteen of the villages have been affected by the recent bombardments. In Darkar, 25 of 63 villages have been subject to Turkish bombs, according to the mayors of both areas.

Several other villages in the area have also been abandoned due to ongoing offensive in the area. Horor Bazib is one of these villages. It is home to 50 families, who haven't been able to visit their agricultural lands, fearing bombardments.

Mahmoud Ahmed is from the village. He told Rudaw Wednesday, “we cannot leave the village because we fear Turkey. We live on [the produce of our lands] on these mountains.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /150720202

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 3:02 am
Author: Anthea
NGO asks Italy, EU to stop
Turkey bombing Kurdistan Region


An Italian aid agency with decades experience in Iraq urged Rome and Brussels to engage with the Turkish and Iranian governments to end bombing campaigns within Iraq’s borders

Un Ponte Per, which was founded in 1991 to focus on helping Iraqis affected by war, condemned Turkey’s new offensive and called on the Italian government and European Union to request Ankara and Tehran “immediately stop” their military campaigns.

On June 15, Turkey launched renewed airstrikes, targeting alleged positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) within the Kurdistan Region. Iran also occasionally fires on alleged positions of armed Kurdish groups who are opposed to Tehran.

The Kurdistan Region’s civilian population bears the brunt of the military campaigns.

At least five civilians have been killed in Turkey’s ongoing offensive and scores of villages in the mountains have been partially or completely vacated. “Where to flee now? Airstrikes occur every day. We have no life,” villager Nawfal Abunuel told Rudaw.

Un Ponte Per said it witnessed a humanitarian crisis Turkey caused by its invasion of northeastern Syria in 2019. “The international community cannot allow the same escalation to occur in Iraqi Kurdistan today,” the NGO stated on Thursday, noting that 13,000 people have already been displaced.

Baghdad has demanded Turkey stop its violations of Iraqi sovereignty, delivering a formal note through Ankara's ambassador. Iraqi President Barham Salih told a number of Arab ambassadors last week that Turkey “has to suspend its military violations on Iraqi soil.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/170720201

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:52 pm
Author: Anthea
Turkish bombs destroy land and animals

Turkish bombardments in the Barzan area this week sparked a fire that has burned for days, destroying farmlands and killing wild animals, according to local officials

Turkey dropped bombs on a hillside near Lere village, in the Sherwan Mazin subdistrict of Barzan, 90 kilometres northeast of Erbil, on Friday, according to villagers and local officials who said on Wednesday the fire is still burning because it is a rugged area.

“The vicinity of the village has been burning for five days. The fire has not been extinguished because firefighting vehicles cannot access the area,” Ajeel Adil, mukhtar (chieftan) of Sherwan Mazin, told Rudaw English. Turkey bombs the area almost on a daily basis, he added.

Turkey launched a new offensive in the Kurdistan Region on June 15, with the stated aim of removing Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters from its borders with the Region. Residents and wildlife of the mountains have borne the brunt of the campaign, however.

“Almost everything is gone,” Omer Abd Ham, mukhtar of Lere village, told Rudaw English.

“The valley behind the village has been burnt. At least two mountain goats have been burnt in addition to the burning of trees. The loss is very big, costing millions of dinars,” he said.

Photographs taken over the past few days and submitted to Rudaw show scorched bee hives, smoldering trees, and dead animals, possibly mountain goats or bezoar ibex. The animals appear to have burn marks on their legs.

Mukhtar Ham criticized the government for “not doing anything to extinguish the fire. The forest rangers came and sat down under some trees without trying to extinguish the fire. We kicked them out of the area.”

Satellite imagery shows a blackened area above the village, stretching at least two kilometres long. Villagers used to use this area for grazing their livestock, but now they do not know where they will bring their animals, said the mukhtar, calling on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to compensate them.

Turkey’s new offensive has been focused on areas in Duhok province’s Zakho region. At least five civilians have been killed there and several villages have been abandoned under the bombardment.

Several civilians from one family were injured by Turkish drones in late June in Sulaimani province's Kuna Masi resort. Turkey has not confirmed it carried out the attack, which killed an Iranian Kurdish fighter. Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Turkey in a report on Wednesday for failing to take "adequate precautions" to minimize civilian harm in the attack.

“The Turkish military strike on opposition fighters in a resort area seriously injured several civilians and could have harmed many more,” said Belkis Wille, the organization’s senior crisis and conflict researcher. “While the fighters were wrong to put the civilians at risk, Turkey also needs to take all practical precautions to limit harm to civilians.”

Matin Mohammed, who lives in Lere and took some photos, told Rudaw English that the fire also killed many birds and bees.

Gunde Lere Facebook page, administered by locals, reported that the fire has damaged most of the environment of the area.

Haji Abd, another villager, has 300 goats. “Now I will have trouble grazing them because almost everywhere is burnt,” he told Rudaw English.

These hillsides are restricted areas because of the PKK-Turkey conflict, but Abd said they would get permission from Turkish military bases to graze their animals.

Turkish bombs frequently spark forest fires that have devastated the Kurdistan Region’s mountains. A 2018 study found 2.2 million acres of forest has been lost, partially due to Turkish and Iranian artillery fire.

These bombardments and airstrikes “will destroy the natural resources and ecosystems in the whole region,” said environmentalist Korsh Ararat, warning that Turkey will also feel the effects. In “nature there is no border or boundary.”

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/220720203

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:57 am
Author: Anthea
Not us but the occupiers
will leave this country


The population of Southern Kurdistan is another face of the resistance of Heftanin

It is probably the most innocent face and one that is difficult to describe. You can do whatever you want, a description of these people can never be complete. For years they have experienced every possible kind of pain. A few days ago I was in Evlehe, a village in the Pirbula area of Heftanin. It is located just below the Coordinate Hill. This hill has a strategic importance in Heftanin, because it is right in the middle. Because it is very high, all movements in the region can be controlled from there, especially the surrounding villages. The occupying forces want to take this hill. There are still occasional clashes between the guerrillas and the occupying forces.

For almost two weeks now, attack helicopters have been sifting through the Coordinate hill every night, after which troops are airdropped. As soon as the occupying forces move, the guerrillas strike. That's why they can't get any further and why one village is bombed every day. A few days ago, Evlehe was also bombed. When I was in the village, shells had just been fired on the houses. Because people don't leave the village and their houses, they are bombed. The enemy cannot fight the guerrillas and is attacking the villagers.

This has been going on for years. Remember how our beautiful Dersim was depopulated. How those who refused to leave Dersim were killed. You remember the Dersim massacre of 1938? The great genocide. In an area where the villages have always preserved their culture, language, way of life and everything that made them what they were. Such places are always attacked by those who hate these idiosyncrasies.

In the Dersim massacre, everything that makes up the way of life in Kurdistan are wanted wiped out, broken, fragmented and dispersed: the culture connected to the ground, the hearts fused with the mountains. The equality between woman and man. Efforts were made to make no one remember the name, language and faith of Dersim anymore. First the villages were depopulated. Those who did not want to leave were burned together with their village.

"Our mountains have been bombed for years"

How courageously resistance was mounted and fought there was told by eyewitnesses only years later. They saw how the women resisted and that resistance is innate in Kurdish women, but they did not want to admit it to themselves. None of the military personnel involved as eyewitnesses or perpetrators has ever been punished. They committed suicide, left the army or became torture machines. They were all murderers. However, the expulsion from their homeland and the burning down of the villages has not changed the fact that these people are Kurds and that the burnt and bombed landscape is Kurdistan.

And now the same is happening in Southern Kurdistan. I had tea in Evlehe with a woman whose house was bombed. These are her words: "These mountains do not belong to the Turks, how will they live here? Every day, water is brought to them by helicopters, even their positions are transported by helicopters. They can only stay in the mountains by force. The guerrillas have transported the water on their backs, we have seen and experienced this.

These mountains belong to us. We do not leave our villages. They must leave. This land belongs to us. Even my little son knows that. Every day, a government man from Southern Kurdistab comes here. They say we should tend our gardens in the morning and go somewhere else in the evening. The Turks told them that. We work in the house and garden and in the evening they come and bomb us.

This area has been bombed for years, every night for years there have been Cobra helicopters in the air above us. The Turkish state doesn't leave us alone one day. Can't the world see that? Don't the Turkish people see it? The Kurds are at the side of all peoples in the most difficult situations, why is everyone silent now? The soldiers must leave the mountains because these mountains are ours. If anyone has to go, it's them and not us."

It is said that you don't have to study and read books to understand the feelings of a mother. If you want to know something about fascism, it's enough to live in Kurdistan.

https://anfenglishmobile.com/kurdistan/ ... ntry-45462

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:28 am
Author: Anthea
Farmland ablaze

Airstrikes continue in Sulaimani province

Warplanes conducted airstrikes in Sulaimani province's Qamish village near the town of Mawat early Friday afternoon, according to a local official.

Kamaran Hassan, the head of Mawat town, confirmed the bombardment to Rudaw, saying no casualties have been reported, but agricultural lands were set ablaze during the airstrikes.

The official claims the airstikes were Turkish.

“The fire is still not under control, and civil defense teams are at the site attempting to contain the fire,” Hassan added.

Turkey launched its current offensive in the Kurdistan Region on June 15, with the stated aim of removing PKK fighters from the border areas. Operations have focused on areas in Duhok province’s Zakho region where villagers living in the mountains have borne the brunt of Turkey's bombing.

Seven civilians have been killed and many villages have been abandoned. Two people killed late last month were initially identified as members of the PKK, but their families later denied the connection. Mohammed Abdulla, whose father was killed in the airstrike, told Rudaw his father had no ties with the PKK.

The PKK, seeking greater cultural and political rights for Kurds in Turkey, has been in conflict with the Ankara government for decades. At least 5,000 people have been killed in clashes and attacks since peace efforts failed in July 2015, according to the International Crisis Group. The PKK has its headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil mountains.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/07082020

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 12:15 am
Author: Anthea
504 villages emptied
due to Turkey-PKK war


A new report by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament catalogues extensive damage caused by the Turkish army and, to a lesser extent Iranian army, incursions into the Kurdistan Region since 1992, leaving a staggering 504 villages empty as their residents fled fighting and are now internally displaced

The parliament set up a special committee on June 29 to visit areas affected by Turkish and Iranian attacks, assess the security situation, and provide an estimate of the losses. The formation of the committee came on the heels of a coordinated attack by Turkey and Iran in mid-June on fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups stationed in the border areas adjacent to these two countries.

“At least 504 villages have been emptied,” across the Kurdistan Region, Dr. Rebwar Babkaye who oversaw the team investigating Erbil province, told Rudaw English. Verifying information, however, was a challenge for the committee, he explained, and it was difficult for the committee to provide concrete data.

“One of the main issues that we’ve had is collecting data and information about the exact human and material losses. But I can say with certainty that in Erbil province alone, hundreds of people have been killed since 1992 and tens of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the PKK-Turkey war,” he said.

Most of the displacement occurred in Duhok and Erbil provinces, according to the report which also concluded that dozens of civilians have been killed in Turkish and Iranian airstrikes, shelling, and incursions into the Kurdistan Region. They did not put a figure on the monetary losses villagers have incurred, but estimated it to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Committee members visited all four provinces in the Kurdistan Region as well as the Shingal area in July, interviewing locals and administrators in the affected areas. Parliament debated their report in late July and Rudaw has obtained a copy.

The Amedi district in Duhok province is the most affected region. Here, Christians and Muslims live side-by-side. “The team visited the [Amedi] district, which consists of six sub-districts, namely Shiladze, Deraluk, Kani Masi, Bamarni, Sarsang and Chamanke… Out of 348 villages, 198 have been emptied,” the report stated.

At least 28 civilians have been killed and four wounded in Amedi district since 1992 when the Kurdistan Regional Government was established under the auspices of western countries.

The second most affected area was the Sidakan sub-district in Erbil province where around 104 villages have been displaced as a result of fighting. In the adjacent sub-district of Mergasur, another 55 villages have been abandoned.

In Sulaimani province, the rate of displacement due to Iranian shelling and bombing is far less, but Iran has deployed forces to the border area and has breached the frontier in a number of places. Iran has violated “the Iraqi border… in the border areas in Keli and Jasusan” as well as “violating the 1975 agreement… and breaching the border area in Sepiro,” stated the report.

The 1975 Algiers Agreement demarked some stretches of the Iran-Iraq border.

Turkey has also conducted airstrikes in Sulaimani province in recent years, targeting members of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) affiliated with the PKK. A strike on June 25, which killed a PJAK fighter, also wounded seven civilians and caused material damage to the tune of 25 million dinars ($20,000).

Turkish violations

In Duhok’s Zakho district, Turkish forces have carried out operations 40 kilometres deep inside Iraqi Kurdistan territory, setting up new bases, according to the report. In the space of one month, from June 5 to July 4, Turkish forces fired almost 669 shells and 70 rockets at border villages in Zakho. “Around 50 civilians have been killed since 1992 and tens of others wounded,” the report stated. “In the past there were four Turkish bases, but now there are another 18 bases in the area.”

Nine civilians have been killed and 21 wounded in Dinarte sub-district of Duhok province since 1996. “Dinarte sub district has seen extensive damage as a result of attacks from the Turkish state… out of 91 villages, nearly 24 villages have been displaced and the rest are living in the shadow of Turkish shelling and bombing,” the report stated.

Damage to the environment, tourism sector, and agricultural sector was also extensive.

The committee condemned Turkey and Iran for their deadly attacks.

The report also called on the PKK, PJAK, and other Iranian Kurdish opposition groups “to take into consideration the constitutional position of the Kurdistan Region and do not give excuse to neighboring countries to carry out attacks or deploy their forces to the Kurdistan Region.”

The committee called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold talks with the federal government in Baghdad to prevent Turkish and Iranian violations of the borders and to compensate villagers who have been displaced as a result of the fighting.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/05092020

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:02 pm
Author: Anthea
PKK wants to control Erbil

And has almost controlled' Sulaimani, claims Turkish FM

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) plans to take control of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)-held areas of the Kurdistan Region – and is already on the brink of controlling Sulaimani, Turkey's foreign minister claimed on Tuesday.

“It [the PKK] has almost controlled Sulaimani, its cities and 1,000 of its villages. Actually, the PKK’s aim is to control the Erbil administration [as well],” Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with Congo's foreign minister Jean-Claude Gakosso in Ankara.

“Our Kurdish brothers have been the main victims of PKK oppression,” Cavusoglu said, adding that the group has “forcibly” recruited children in the Kurdistan Region.

The “Erbil administration” refers to the provinces of Duhok and Erbil, areas controlled by the KDP. The KDP has strong ties with Ankara, but thorny relations with the PKK, a Kurdish armed group which fights for cultural and political rights for Kurds in Turkey. Sulaimani, dominated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), has had better relations with the PKK, angering Ankara.

The Turkish foreign minister has previously made claims of PKK dominance in Sulaimani, accusing both the PUK and the Change Movement (Gorran) of backing the PKK in June 2018.

Both parties responded to the accusation. The PUK said it had been left "astonished" by Cavusoglu's comments, while Gorran said it "would not hide that it will support Kurds outside the Kurdistan Region.”

This is, however, Cavusoglu's first such claim about Erbil.

The PKK is yet to respond to Cavusoglu’s Tuesday claim.

Ankara and the PKK have fought in armed clashes since 1984, resulting in the deaths of over 40,000 people from both sides, including civilians. Much of the fighting in recent years has taken place in the Kurdistan Region, after the PKK retreated from some parts of Turkey and withdrew from others as part of 2013 peace process concessions.

The PKK has had a presence along much of the Kurdistan Region's border with Turkey, controlling areas of Duhok, Erbil and Sulaimani provinces where villages lie. Turkey said in July that it has 37 "military points" in the Kurdistan Region, including one each in the cities of Duhok, Erbil, Soran and Zakho.

Turkey launched an air and ground offensive against the PKK in mid-June. It announced the end of its ground campaign, Operation Claw-Tiger, on Saturday. At least eight civilians were killed in the operation. Turkey has continued with its air offensive, bombing six villages in Duhok province on Tuesday.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/080920205

Re: Thousands in fear of Turkish attack

PostPosted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 4:18 am
Author: Anthea
Turkey pounds Zakho villages

Turkey's attacks sparkes fires in clashes with PKK

The village of Soriya in Duhok’s Zakho area burns after intense clashes between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Friday night.

Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) engaged in intense clashes in the Zakho area of Duhok province Friday night, sparking fires that destroyed orchards and farmlands. There were no reported civilian casualties.

"Heavy clashes took place from 10 to 11pm last night between PKK guerillas and the Turkish army in the vicinity of several villages in Batifa sub-district," Dilsher Abdulsatarm, mayor of Batifa, told Rudaw on Saturday.

Turkey used "Apache helicopters in the fight” and fired at least 15 missiles, he said. "Six missiles hit the vicinity of Bandur village, three missiles landed at the vicinities of Minin, Pirbil and Avleh. And another six missiles landed around the village of Kashane."

During the firefight, farmland, orchards, and buildings belonging to local villagers caught fire. Video submitted to Rudaw by a villager from Soriya, which also caught fire, shows several buildings burning and the valley filled with smoke.

"Villagers themselves put out the fire,” chieftain Badal Murad told Rudaw.

The village had previously been abandoned by its residents because of its proximity to clashes between the PKK and Turkey. The Batifa district, with 27 villages, borders Turkey. Thirteen of the villages have been affected by recent bombardments, according to the mayor.

Turkey has pursued the PKK within the Kurdistan Region for decades and this summer it waged intense air and ground campaigns and pushed very close to heavily populated areas. Ankara announced last week it had “successfully completed” its ground war near the border, launched in June, but airstrikes continue and Turkey and Iran recently agreed to conduct joint operations against Kurdish groups they say threaten their security.

While Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was visiting Zakho and the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing on Thursday, Turkey shelled a village about 80 kilometres to the east.

Eight civilians have been killed during Turkey’s offensive this summer.

A new report by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament catalogues extensive damage caused by Turkish army and, to a lesser extent Iranian army, incursions into the Kurdistan Region since 1992, leaving a staggering 504 villages empty as their residents fled fighting and are now internally displaced.

Both Erbil and Baghdad have repeatedly called on Ankara to halt its attacks and have demanded the PKK cease using Kurdistan Region and Iraqi territory to launch attacks on Turkey.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/12092020