Turkey shells Duhok subdistrict over 60 times: Source

A subdistrict in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province came under Turkish bombardment over 60 times on Tuesday morning, a local official told Kurdistan 24, without causing any civilian causality.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A subdistrict in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province came under heavy Turkish bombardment on Tuesday morning, a local official told Kurdistan 24.

Turkish forces repeatedly shelled Darkar sub-district “over 60 times,” beginning at 8:30 in the morning and lasting roughly an hour, Shalash Fendi, Darkar’s acting mayor, told Kurdistan 24, adding, “it did not result in any civilian causalities.”

The bombardment sparked fear among the residents of a nearby Yezidi (Ezidi) displacement camp.

“It resulted in material damage as the affected land is agricultural terrain,” the interim mayor explained.

The area has experienced similar shelling and airstrikes as it is close to Khamtir mountain, on which several Turkish military posts are stationed, and is a battleground for clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish forces.

Border towns and villages, home to hundreds of residents whose lives depend on agriculture, have been emptied due to Turkey-PKK clashes that take place in the area.

Residents and local officials say that ongoing clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK have resulted in the evacuation of 117 villages in the Kurdistan Region’s subdistrict of Sidakan.

Read More: Turkish-PKK clashes cause residents of 117 villages to flee from Kurdistan Region's Sidakan

In the past decade, Turkey has regularly shelled areas inside the Kurdistan Region, but operations this year have intensified and widened in terms of scope and territory covered. In some areas like Brodost, Turkish forces have mobilized as far as 30 kilometers deep inside the autonomous region’s border.

As civilians, agriculture, trade, and the local environment continue to suffer from the clashes, residents and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials have repeatedly asked the PKK and the Turkish government to take their fight elsewhere.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Additional reporting by Islam Yousif)