MESOP NEWS KURDISTAN:Turkey-PKK War in Duhok: 30,000 Dunam of Agricultural Fields Burned this Year

15-8-2021- ERBIL — In the past months alone, 30,000 dunam of agricultural fields have been burned amid the military conflict between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province, an official revealed on Saturday.

The Turkish army and PKK guerillas are in a decades-long military confrontation over the Kurdish question in Turkey while Ankara views the Kurdish armed group as a “terrorist organisation”. The PKK has positions in the border areas of Kurdistan Region.

Speaking to BasNews, Deputy Governor of Duhok, Majid Said Salih, pointed out that available statistics indicate that the continued war between the Turkish army and PKK in the region has led to the burning of 30,000 dunam of agricultural land over the past few months.

The loss is estimated to be around nine billion Iraqi dinars for the local farmers, Said added, noting that the their teams could not reach the area to deal with the fire incidents due to the continuation of the armed conflict.

“This year, especially since April, 30,000 dunam of land has been burned amid the war between the PKK and Turkey, the majority of which is located in the areas of Kani Masi, Amedi, Darkar, Batifa,” the official said, pointing out that the war has also affected a great number of orchards in Amedi, Zakho, Shiladze, and Chamanke.

Top Kurdish officials have repeatedly called on both the Turkish army and the PKK to avoid using the Kurdistan Region’s territory as their battleground as civilians are often been targeted.