ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A wildfire northeast of Duhok continues to burn for the third day in a row as firefighting teams struggle to bring the blaze under control because of landmines and explosives in the mountains.

Kawa Sabri, head of the Duhok forestry directorate told Rudaw the fire in the Zawita area could have been started because of the hot weather or may have been “intentionally” set. 

"We have controlled it to a certain extent," he said. "However in certain places, due to the presence of mines and explosives in the mountains, we cannot proceed, except with the use of specialized aircraft."

Northern Duhok province is the site of frequent clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish forces. 

“We have been trying to control the fire since early morning. While we were trying to control the fire, four landmines exploded,” Karwan Abid from Duhok’s directorate of civil protection told Rudaw’s Ayub Nasri on Sunday at the scene of the blaze.
 
Thousands of dunams of land have been burned in Duhok province this year, many fires sparked by clashes between Turkey and the PKK. According to data from the forest police in May, 4,181 dunams of land had been burned by Turkish bombardments.

Turkey regularly carries out airstrikes and ground operations in the Kurdistan Region, against what it says are positions belonging to the PKK, an armed group seeking more rights for Kurds in Turkey. Turkish forces launched two operations, Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt, which are still ongoing in Duhok’s Metina and Avashin areas, on the mountainous frontier with Turkey. Operation Claw-Eagle 2 targeted Duhok’s Mount Gara in February.

Zawita is located about 10 kilometres northeast of Duhok, on the road to Amedi. The forests in the area are home to many wild animals. Last winter, environmentalists set up shelters for animals and birds in the Zawita forests.

There are more than 300 bird species in the Kurdistan Region, according to figures from the Kurdistan Organization for Animal Rights Protection (KOARP). At least ten are under threat of extinction due to a number of factors, including environmental destruction by human beings, hunting and climate change, according to environmental scientist Korsh Ararat.

Photos by Hunar Rasheed/Rudaw