Over 10 Christian villages evacuate as PKK-Turkey clashes intensify

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Over 10 Christian villages have been evacuated since the beginning of Turkey’s new military operations, the head of Zakho district said, as Ankara targets alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in the Kurdistan Region.

In mid-June, the Turkish Defense Ministry conducted a series of airstrikes against alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region, including Sinjar (Shingal), Qandil, Karacak, Zap, Avasin-Basyan, and Hakurk, as part of a military operation which Ankara calls “Operation Eagle Claw.”

Darkar sub-district in Duhok province’s Zakho district, bordering with Turkey, has witnessed the new round of clashes between PKK fighters and Turkish armed forces.

“Out of 11 Christian villages in the area, nine of them have been completely evacuated,” Botan Mohsen, Zakho district’s mayor, told Kurdistan 24, as the villages lie within the scope of the operation.

Clashes’ economic ramifications

Besides sparking fear among the Christian villagers in the area, the Turkey-PKK clashes have had an adverse economic effect in the area because villagers depend on agriculture and tourism to make a living.

Harsin Jameel, a Christian villager who owns a resort in the area, has been hit economically. The clashes have prevented tourists from visiting his resort.

“I have spent nearly $400,000 in this project [resort],” Jameel told Kurdistan 24. He still has to cover the expenses and payments of his eight workers at the resort.

“People do not risk bringing their families to the area due to the airstrikes,” he added, noting that the road to his resort is locked due to the ongoing confrontations in the area.

“Half of the village lost their agriculture,” Mayor Botan said, as he explained the villagers’ agrarian lands have been burnt.

“We do not want problems and we want everyone to stay on their lands,” a clergyman told Kurdistan 24. Another villager said, “our demand is that we want them [PKK and Turkey] to avoid their conflict from us.”

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 Islam Yousif)