MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : ERDOGAN’S CRIMES IN SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ)

Turkish airstrikes hit Duhok province’s rural areas: sources

Halgurd Sherwani |  19 August 2020 – The aftermath of a Turkish airstrike in Baze village of Duhok province, Aug. 19, 2020.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Wednesday, Turkish airstrikes targeted rural areas in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province, targeting alleged positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the area, according to sources.  The Turkish air raid intensely targeted Kani Mazne and Baze villages in Duhok province’s Amedi area, local sources told Kurdistan 24. Baze village was attacked six times in less than an hour, the source added.

No causalities have been reported yet, but an individual is missing, sources noted.

The new round of airstrikes came following a Turkish attack in Erbil province’s Bradost area that resulted in the death of two high-ranking Iraqi border guards along with their driver.

The incident drew strong criticisms from Iraq and other Arab countries as they described it as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

In parallel, on Wednesday, Turkish airstrikes targeted a rural area in Duhok province’s Akre district, according to sources. The attack has not resulted in civilian casualties, but it has set agricultural areas ablaze.

Turkey has intensified its bombardment of various areas over its southern border into the Kurdistan Region since mid-June, killing dozens of civilians unaffiliated to the PKK and has caused the displacement of thousands, extensive damage to residences, farms, and killed locals’ livestock.

The PKK is engaged in a decades-long insurgency against Turkey over Kurdish rights and self-rule that has resulted in the death of over 40,000 people on both sides. The group is headquartered in the Kurdistan Region’s Zagros Mountains, along the Turkish and Iranian borders.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany