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Kurdistan
Turkey launched an offensive dubbed Operation Claw-Tiger in mid-June aimed at ousting the PKK from the border areas it shares with Iraq involving aerial and ground incursions led by commando forces. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Around 50,000 residents of the areas surrounding the town of Zakho in Duhok province fear that their lives could be endangered at any moment due to the recent clashes between Turkish forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), local officials tell Rudaw.
Turkey launched an air offensive dubbed Operation Claw-Eagle on June 15, with the stated aim of targeting PKK bases in the Kurdistan Region, then launched a commando force ground campaign called Operation Claw-Tiger on June 17. The air offensive has claimed the lives of five civilians, and injured several others.
Zeravan Musa, mayor of the Darkar subdistrict in Zakho, told Rudaw TV on Friday that Turkey’s advances have caused a number of villages to “fall behind” the Turkish military’s forward positions.
"There are 21 villages, and most of them are empty except for four of them where only a small number of people live there," he said. While the offensive has not caused any civilian casualties in the area, it has damaged agricultural land used by farmers.
The official said that they are in contact with those villagers who remain in the area to see if they require assistance, "but they are not willing to move to downtown Zakho," said Musa.
Musa told Rudaw that Turkish soldiers rappelled down onto the strategic Mount Khamter, which is located near the [Iraqi] border and overlooks several villages below. “This has created fear among the residents of our area,” Musa said.
He added that “bombardments continue every day and Turkey continues to advance.” The latest offensive has affected 30 villages of the subdistrict so far, according to Musa.
“Currently, 13,000 citizens and 27,000 displaced people from three different camps are terrified due to the sound of the bombardment and Turkey’s advances,” the official said.
Both the PKK and Turkish forces have had military bases along the Turkey-Iraq border for decades. The rough, mountainous region is home mostly to poor farmers who struggle to earn a living. They are also home to an untold number of guerrillas of the PKK, who have for years used the border region as a base of operations. But with their presence comes the threat of attacks by Turkish forces, which have frightened and sometimes threatened local villagers.
Abdulrahman Mohammed, resident of the area, told Rudaw that both PKK and Ankara “do not let us rest.” Other residents said that they have no place to go.
Zakho is a district on the Iraqi-Turkish border in the northern Duhok province of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Dilsher Abdulsattar, mayor of the Batifa subdistrict in Zakho told Rudaw that 12 villages of the area have seen damage to their agricultural lands. “A village has been completely emptied and three others could be emptied as well.”
He added that 10,000 residents of the area fear that their lives are in danger due to the clashes.
Additional reporting by Yousef Musa
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