'Only our people are the victims' Amedi mayor says of bombardments
SPINDAR, Kurdistan Region — Farmers like Ibrahim Ahmed fear being caught in the crossfire of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fight with the Turkish military, so many have fled villages in northern parts of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
"Our village is under threat. There are 150 families here, all are under threat. They are fleeing the village because we don’t have any other option," he told Rudaw.
Turkey has conducted airstrikes against alleged PKK targets near Amedi as part of its Operation Claw.
In Spindar village, Ahmed says five civilians were injured on July 18 when ordinance hit an automobile.
Mohammed Amin is another farmer in Syara village in Chamanke.
His and 25 other families live in a 250-family village. Amin says he works in fear, searching the sky for Turkish jets.
"We always look for surveillance aircraft. When they come we’re terrified. We took our families to Duhok, while my wife and I remained alone in the village. Our life is under threat; may God bless us. Turkey has no right to come to here and bombard us," he said.
Amedi authorities have recorded that six civilians have been killed and 11 injured in the first seven months of 2019.
"We’re always cooperating with Duhok governorate together with the KRG on high rank basis. We hope for a good result this time; PKK fighters and the Turkish government have to adhere to it. Turkey and PKK have made our land, especially Amedi district, their battlefield. Only our people are the victims," Amedi Mayor Ismael Mustafa said.
Around 360 villages — mostly around Amedi — have been evacuated because of the fighting, according to Mustafa. Others around Akre and Zakho have been evacuated.
Both authorities from the the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil and Iraqi federal government in Baghdad have called on groups not to use their soil to take up arms against other countries.
The PKK fight against the Turkish state has lasted four decades. It has experienced brief periods of ceasefire, but was reignited after a peace process stalled in 2015.
Some 4,472 people have been killed since the peace process fell apart on July 20, 2015, according to the most recent figures from the International Crisis Group (ICG).
"Our village is under threat. There are 150 families here, all are under threat. They are fleeing the village because we don’t have any other option," he told Rudaw.
Ahmed lives in Spindar village, an area of Chamanke near Amedi in Duhok province. Amedi is a town and a district, about 70 kilometers north of the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil city.
Turkey has conducted airstrikes against alleged PKK targets near Amedi as part of its Operation Claw.
In Spindar village, Ahmed says five civilians were injured on July 18 when ordinance hit an automobile.
Mohammed Amin is another farmer in Syara village in Chamanke.
His and 25 other families live in a 250-family village. Amin says he works in fear, searching the sky for Turkish jets.
"We always look for surveillance aircraft. When they come we’re terrified. We took our families to Duhok, while my wife and I remained alone in the village. Our life is under threat; may God bless us. Turkey has no right to come to here and bombard us," he said.
Amedi authorities have recorded that six civilians have been killed and 11 injured in the first seven months of 2019.
"We’re always cooperating with Duhok governorate together with the KRG on high rank basis. We hope for a good result this time; PKK fighters and the Turkish government have to adhere to it. Turkey and PKK have made our land, especially Amedi district, their battlefield. Only our people are the victims," Amedi Mayor Ismael Mustafa said.
Around 360 villages — mostly around Amedi — have been evacuated because of the fighting, according to Mustafa. Others around Akre and Zakho have been evacuated.
Both authorities from the the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil and Iraqi federal government in Baghdad have called on groups not to use their soil to take up arms against other countries.
The PKK fight against the Turkish state has lasted four decades. It has experienced brief periods of ceasefire, but was reignited after a peace process stalled in 2015.
Some 4,472 people have been killed since the peace process fell apart on July 20, 2015, according to the most recent figures from the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Reporting by Naif Ramadan