Villagers in Duhok province 'terrified' after Turkish airstrike
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Residents of a Duhok village say they are “terrified” following a Turkish airstrike on Monday evening.
Locals in the village of Dargale Musa Bag, near the town of Kani Masi, were startled by the strike targeting members of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) amid a recent wave of clashes in the area.
Sarbast Sabri, head of Kani Masi subdistrict told Rudaw that the village was “bombarded by Turkish air forces” at 4:30pm on Monday.
“A number of rockets hit 400 meters away from the populated area of the village,” causing material loss, he added.
According to the official, a recent spate of bombings has terrified locals.
“Bombardments have taken place continually throughout the last week, terrifying people. Fortunately, there have not been any casualties.”
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. Its decades-long war with the Turkish state has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths on both sides.
Areas on the Kurdistan Region -Turkey border, as well as in the disputed areas of Shingal and Makhmour are often subject to Turkish airstrikes targeting PKK positions. While they are not always fatal, villagers in the surrounding areas live in fear of further bombardments.
Ankara has not released any statement regarding the attack on Kani Masi but did say that forces targeted a PKK position on Mount Khakurk, Erbil province on Monday.
Turkey’s defense ministry said that they “neutralized” three PKK fighters in the attack, publishing a video of the airstrike.
Ankara uses the term “neutralized” to imply targets were killed or captured.
Kani Masi saw another clash between Ankara and the PKK last week after the PKK attacked a Turkish military base near the village, cutting out the local power supply for nearly a day.
One villager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Rudaw English that the members of the Kurdish armed group pass by the village in disguise in order not to be identified by Turkish forces.
The source, who works for a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) office in the village, also said that Monday’s strike hit near a spring regularly visited by villagers, who rely on the water for farming.
Another villager, who also did not want to be identified, told Rudaw English that “almost all houses of the village were affected by the bombardment,” with most of them having their windows broken.
“We are really terrified,” he added.
Village chieftain Salih Kamil, who was in the village at the time of the bombing, told Rudaw English that seven to eight houses had their windows broken in the strike.
Amedi mayor Ismail Mustafa told Rudaw this week that 23 civilians have died as a result of PKK-Turkey violence since January 2019.
He added that the population of 361 villages in the area have abandoned their homes due to the decades-long history of clashes between the two forces.
Additional reporting by Nasir Ali