KDP President Masoud Barzani arrives in Zakho

The party leader on Saturday visited Amedi and held a town hall meeting with the community leaders.

Kurdistan 24 2023/08/20 11:23

KDP President Masoud Barzani (second from right) greeted by local officials in Zakho, August 20, 2023. (Photo: Submitted to Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani on Sunday visited Zakho district as part of his visit to Duhok province, where he is set to meet with local residents as well as community leaders.

Barzani arrived in the district early Sunday following his meetings in the past two days in both Amedi and Akre in the province.

The party leader on Saturday visited Amedi and held a town hall meeting with the community leaders, with whom he discussed local issues related to government services as well as the latest developments in Iraq and Kurdistan Region.

One of the issues that the border areas in Zakho and Amedi is the ongoing conflict between PKK and Turkish forces.

The province’s mountainous areas are continuously shelled and bombarded by Turkish forces that claim that they target suspected PKK positions in the area.

Hundreds of local residents have fled the conflict area, in which civilians had been killed and maimed as a result of the decades-old conflict.

Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) has previously said the conflict has hindered public service provision in the area.

Over 40,000 people on both sides have been killed since the Turkish-PKK conflict began in 1984.

Kurdistan Region officials regularly call on Baghdad, officially in charge of border security affairs, to prevent the insurgents and foreign militaries from engaging in hostilities within its territory. Officials have voiced concerns about increased militia forces presence in the area.