Turkish jets, artillery bombard Amedi villages as Turkey-PKK clashes continue

On Thursday, Turkish jets and artillery allegedly bombarded villages located in Duhok province’s Amedi town, causing no causalities, sources told Kurdistan 24.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Thursday, Turkish jets and artillery allegedly bombarded villages located in Duhok province’s Amedi town, causing no causalities, sources told Kurdistan 24.

The shelling and jet bombardment come as clashes between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continue after Turkey recently announced a twin military operation dubbed “Claw-Eagle” – air operation –  “Claw-Tiger” – ground operation – to target alleged PKK sites in the Kurdistan Region.

On early Thursday, alleged Turkish jets bombarded Bare Gare village located in Amedi town in Duhok province, sources told Kurdistan 24.

The airstrikes reportedly did not cause any causalities, but set fire to the agricultural lands in the area, the source said.

In parallel, alleged Turkish artilleries bombarded an area close to the villages of Kesta and Chalke in Amedi’s Barwari Balla area three times, the source told Kurdistan 24.

Kesta is a village predominately inhabited by Muslims while Chalke is composed of majority Christian villagers. The shelling did not cause any causalities, but sparked fear among the population.

As Turkey-PKK clashes continue, it is expected that some villages in Barwari Balla will evacuate due to the Turkish airstrikes targeting the alleged PKK positions in the area, the source added.

Kurdistan 24 previously reported that over 10 Christian villages have been evacuated since the beginning of Turkey’s new military operations as Ankara targets alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region.

Read More: Over 10 Christian villages evacuate as PKK-Turkey clashes intensify

Authorities in the Kurdistan Region have repeatedly complained that hundreds of residents of the border villages are displaced as a result of military operations launched by Turkey and Iran, which often result in civilian casualties and property damage.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Additional reporting by Shimal Barchi)