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DUHOK, Kurdistan Region - Following the death of a Danish national over the weekend, local villagers said explosive ordnance including landmines has taken lives and limbs in the Duhok province's mountainous regions, amid frequent clashes between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Denmark’s foreign ministry on Friday confirmed to Rudaw English the death of one of its citizens in Duhok province, Kurdistan Region on Thursday.
Two Danish cyclists aged 28, Torbjorn Haubroe Methmann and Johannes William Karlsson, entered Kurdistan Region through the Sarzere border crossing with Turkey but lost their way, heading to an unpaved road between Kamberke and Barukhi villages in Kani Masi - where Turkey and the PKK fighters have clashed for decades.
Methmann’s bike hit a roadside bomb, causing his death. The dead body was recovered late Thursday.
Speaking of the incident, Rafaat Salih, chieftain of the village of Ravina called on the local authorities to block the road and asked locals to completely avoid it.
"This [unpaved] road exists on GPS [Global Positioning System]. This is a dangerous road. This road had previously been blocked by the relevant authorities. We are calling on them once again to block it," Salih told Rudaw.
Ibrahim Mohammed, a resident of Nvishkan village where the incident happened in close proximity of it, said he too has been wounded by a landmine allegedly planted by the PKK in the region two years ago, together with two other villagers.
"In this very same area, together with two other persons, we were wounded [after hitting a landmine] but we had used a different road coming from behind that mountain towards here. Last year, another person from our village too was killed [by a landmine],"Mohammed said.
Rudaw has learned that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Danish government are in contact to return the dead body of Methmann to Denmark.
Locals have cautiously and rarely used the road in the past due to the region's insecurity.
Duhok police on Saturday claimed that the mine which was hit by the Danish tourists had been planted by the PKK, calling on tourists “to avoid suspected [contaminated] areas.”
The PKK’s military wing on Saturday denied responsibility for planting a bomb that killed a Danish cyclist.
Denmark’s foreign ministry on Friday confirmed to Rudaw English the death of one of its citizens in Duhok province, Kurdistan Region on Thursday.
Two Danish cyclists aged 28, Torbjorn Haubroe Methmann and Johannes William Karlsson, entered Kurdistan Region through the Sarzere border crossing with Turkey but lost their way, heading to an unpaved road between Kamberke and Barukhi villages in Kani Masi - where Turkey and the PKK fighters have clashed for decades.
Methmann’s bike hit a roadside bomb, causing his death. The dead body was recovered late Thursday.
Speaking of the incident, Rafaat Salih, chieftain of the village of Ravina called on the local authorities to block the road and asked locals to completely avoid it.
"This [unpaved] road exists on GPS [Global Positioning System]. This is a dangerous road. This road had previously been blocked by the relevant authorities. We are calling on them once again to block it," Salih told Rudaw.
Ibrahim Mohammed, a resident of Nvishkan village where the incident happened in close proximity of it, said he too has been wounded by a landmine allegedly planted by the PKK in the region two years ago, together with two other villagers.
"In this very same area, together with two other persons, we were wounded [after hitting a landmine] but we had used a different road coming from behind that mountain towards here. Last year, another person from our village too was killed [by a landmine],"Mohammed said.
Rudaw has learned that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Danish government are in contact to return the dead body of Methmann to Denmark.
Locals have cautiously and rarely used the road in the past due to the region's insecurity.
Duhok police on Saturday claimed that the mine which was hit by the Danish tourists had been planted by the PKK, calling on tourists “to avoid suspected [contaminated] areas.”
The PKK’s military wing on Saturday denied responsibility for planting a bomb that killed a Danish cyclist.
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