Kurdistan
Turkish bombardment struck Zakho district, Duhok province, on July 20, 2022. Photo: Submitted; Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The continued fighting between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Kurdistan Region’s borders is completely “unacceptable”, the Region's President Nechirvan Barzani said Wednesday following the Turkish attack that killed and injured dozens in Zakho.
“The repeated bombings and continued fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters on the borders has been completely rejected and unacceptable,” the President said, adding that such attacks harm the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region.
President Barzani further urged for an end to the aggressions on the Kurdistan Region’s borders and called on the Iraqi federal government to prevent such tragedies from reoccurring.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also condemned the Turkish bombardment in Zakho and said that Iraq and the international community must do their part in ensuring that such attacks will not be repeated, describing the Turkey-PKK confrontations as “a source of threat and a permanent danger to the lives of citizens.”
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the Region "has been repeatedly dragged into violence by the infighting between Turkey and PKK. It has cost our citizens unnecessary pain, suffering and anxiety. This has to end."
Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani said that measures should be taken so incidents like the deadly Zakho bombardment are not repeated, while calling on the KRG and the Iraqi federal government to cooperate and find a “serious and fundamental” solution
Iraqi foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed al-Sahaf told Rudaw on Wednesday evening that Iraq will take the "harshest" response to the Turkish bombardment, adding that the diplomatic procedures will not be as usual.
A deadly bombardment struck a tourist resort in Duhok’s Zakho district on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least eight and injuring dozens more, with all victims of the attack coming from central and southern Iraq.
A number of senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih, and top Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also expressed strong condemnations for the deadly attack.
Anti-riot police have been deployed in front of Turkish embassy compound in Baghdad in anticipation of protests.
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) also condemned the bombardment in a statement, calling for “thorough investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack,” and urging for Iraq’s sovereignty to be respected.
Updated at 10:06pm
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