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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Clashes broke out between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) within the borders of Erbil province on Saturday morning, a local mayor said. The skirmish comes as the Kurdistan Region is seeing thousands of its citizens, mainly the youth, take risky journeys to Europe and recent student protests that shook the streets.
Turkey and the PKK clashed in the mountainous area of Lelkan in Sidakan sub-district, Sidakan mayor Ihsan Chalabi told Rudaw.
The fight started at 10:00 am and lasted for one hour. According to Chalabi, Turkey also bombed the Lelkan heights.
There are no reports of injuries or casualties.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey, with several bases in the Kurdistan Region. Turkey frequently carries out cross-border ground and air offensives against alleged locations of the PKK, which Ankara considers to be a terrorist organization. In April, Turkey launched the twin operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt in northern Duhok province.
Sidakan, 90 kilometers northeast of Erbil city, is in Kurdistan Region’s mountains with Iran to the east and Turkey to the north. The area is frequently bombarded by Turkey and Iran due to the presence of PKK fighters and Kurdish opposition groups from Iran.
Last month, a suspected Turkish drone struck Bradost mountain range, targeting PKK’s activities in Sidakan. In September, Iran attacked the border areas of Choman, Sidakan, and Haji Omran, targeting alleged bases of Kurdish opposition groups.
Civilian populations and the environment have been severely damaged by the Turkey-PKK conflict. Several people have been killed, thousands of acres of land have been scorched, and people’s houses and livestock have been hit. There have been over 400 military incursions into the Kurdistan Region in the first nine months of this year, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The KRG has repeatedly called on both Iran and Turkey to respect its sovereignty and for the Kurdish groups to stop using its territory to launch attacks on neighbors.
Additional reporting by Bakhtiyar Qadir
Turkey and the PKK clashed in the mountainous area of Lelkan in Sidakan sub-district, Sidakan mayor Ihsan Chalabi told Rudaw.
The fight started at 10:00 am and lasted for one hour. According to Chalabi, Turkey also bombed the Lelkan heights.
There are no reports of injuries or casualties.
The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey, with several bases in the Kurdistan Region. Turkey frequently carries out cross-border ground and air offensives against alleged locations of the PKK, which Ankara considers to be a terrorist organization. In April, Turkey launched the twin operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt in northern Duhok province.
Sidakan, 90 kilometers northeast of Erbil city, is in Kurdistan Region’s mountains with Iran to the east and Turkey to the north. The area is frequently bombarded by Turkey and Iran due to the presence of PKK fighters and Kurdish opposition groups from Iran.
Last month, a suspected Turkish drone struck Bradost mountain range, targeting PKK’s activities in Sidakan. In September, Iran attacked the border areas of Choman, Sidakan, and Haji Omran, targeting alleged bases of Kurdish opposition groups.
Civilian populations and the environment have been severely damaged by the Turkey-PKK conflict. Several people have been killed, thousands of acres of land have been scorched, and people’s houses and livestock have been hit. There have been over 400 military incursions into the Kurdistan Region in the first nine months of this year, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The KRG has repeatedly called on both Iran and Turkey to respect its sovereignty and for the Kurdish groups to stop using its territory to launch attacks on neighbors.
Additional reporting by Bakhtiyar Qadir
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