“Turkey has set up four new military bases in Chale Zewke, Khala Sarka Spi, and Khala Rabia-Baranshe villages and near the village of Gire Biye in recent days,” a local security source who spoke on condition of anonymity told Rudaw on Monday, referring to villages in Duhok province’s Batifa subdistrict.
This comes as Turkish air forces conducted strikes on a valley in the vicinity of Baze village in the sub district early Monday, destroying the only water source for the village.
“At 9:45 am Turkey bombarded Galiye Baze (Baze Valley) twice. It caused a huge amount of damage to the village, including causing a big fire in the vicinity of the village,” Sarbast Sabri, mayor of Kani Masi, told Rudaw English.
Diyar Taha, one of the residents of the village, told Rudaw English via phone call that four families live in the vicinity of where the strike took place.
“We were sleeping around 9 am when the bombardment took place. It destroyed our water project,” said Taha, who says they are afraid to attempt to repair the piece of essential infrastructure because they could be targeted by the Turkish army. “We are really terrified.”
The villager says the families rely on livestock and agriculture to make ends meet.
Baze village is home to some 30 families. The vicinity of the village has been bombarded by Turkish drones and jets several times. Taha says that Turkey conducted airstrikes near their houses a few days ago, damaging the windows and doors.
The Turkish presidency’s Directorate of Communications issued a map in July, saying it had established 37 “military points” in border areas of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and inside the cities of Erbil, Duhok, Zakho and Soran. The map was later removed.
Scores of villages in the Kurdistan Region have been emptied due to Turkey’s regular bombardment.
Turkey launched an air and ground military offensive against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region in mid-June. It “successfully completed” the ground operations in Haftanin area in early September, claiming to have “neutralized” 320 PKK fighters by then.
Ankara uses the word neutralized to refer to those killed, surrendered, or otherwise removed from the battlefield.
The PKK is a Kurdish armed group that has struggled for the political and cultural rights of Kurds in Turkey for decades. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and has launched scores of military operations against it inside and outside the country.
At least eight civilians have been killed in Turkish airstrikes in Duhok and Erbil provinces since mid-June. Several others have been injured. Turkey has also killed two Iraqi border officials during the offensive.
A new report by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament catalogues extensive damage caused by the Turkish army incursions into the Region since 1992, leaving a staggering 504 villages empty and their residents internally displaced.
Additional reporting by Nasr Ali
