Turkey-PKK conflict hinders Christians from returning to Duhok villages
DUHOK, Kurdistan Region - Christians began to abandon the village of Yate many years ago, situated in the mountainous areas of Duhok province's Amedi district, fearing relentless armed clashes between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Having left for the US in 2016, Khoshaba Yaqo and his wife returned to the village two years ago. Their return home is once again in jeopardy.
"This is my land. This is my orchard. This is my mountain. This is my country," Yaqo told Rudaw on Monday, as he discussed his decision to return to the Kurdistan Region from the US.
Of 30 families that used to live in the village of Yate, Kani Masi sub-district, only Yaqo's family has returned. Their only source of livelihood is farming in their small orchard.
Kani Masi is located in the Amedi region of Duhok province, near the border with Turkey. The area in the past has been hit by numerous Turkish airstrikes.
Over the course of the past three decades, eight predominantly Christian villages in Amedi have been completely abandoned by their previous inhabitants due to the PKK-Turkey conflict.
Rudaw's Naif Ramadan spoke with Petros Yuhanna, a Christian man from Doori, another Christian village in Amedi via a video call on Monday. Yuhanna left for Australia 20 years ago, abandoning his properties as he feared instability and uncertainty in his area due to the PKK-Turkey clashes.
"I am really homesick now that I am away from my village," Yuhanna said. "I wish I lived the life that we had spent in [Amedi] and our village."
Turkey announced a new phase of a series of military operations against the PKK in Duhok province last week. Dubbed Operation Claw-Lock, the air and ground campaign focuses on mountainous areas on Turkey's borders with the Kurdistan Region.
More than 500 villages have been emptied in the Kurdistan Region over the course of three decades of the Turkey-PKK conflict.
Having left for the US in 2016, Khoshaba Yaqo and his wife returned to the village two years ago. Their return home is once again in jeopardy.
"This is my land. This is my orchard. This is my mountain. This is my country," Yaqo told Rudaw on Monday, as he discussed his decision to return to the Kurdistan Region from the US.
Of 30 families that used to live in the village of Yate, Kani Masi sub-district, only Yaqo's family has returned. Their only source of livelihood is farming in their small orchard.
Kani Masi is located in the Amedi region of Duhok province, near the border with Turkey. The area in the past has been hit by numerous Turkish airstrikes.
Over the course of the past three decades, eight predominantly Christian villages in Amedi have been completely abandoned by their previous inhabitants due to the PKK-Turkey conflict.
Rudaw's Naif Ramadan spoke with Petros Yuhanna, a Christian man from Doori, another Christian village in Amedi via a video call on Monday. Yuhanna left for Australia 20 years ago, abandoning his properties as he feared instability and uncertainty in his area due to the PKK-Turkey clashes.
"I am really homesick now that I am away from my village," Yuhanna said. "I wish I lived the life that we had spent in [Amedi] and our village."
Turkey announced a new phase of a series of military operations against the PKK in Duhok province last week. Dubbed Operation Claw-Lock, the air and ground campaign focuses on mountainous areas on Turkey's borders with the Kurdistan Region.
More than 500 villages have been emptied in the Kurdistan Region over the course of three decades of the Turkey-PKK conflict.