Iran shells Kurdistan Region, wounds and displaces civilians

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) –  On Thursday, the Iranian artillery heavily shelled Sidakan areas in Erbil province on the Kurdistan Region-Iran border for the second time this year.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards began shelling the mountainous areas and the villages of Sidakan on Thursday at 11:00 AM causing the displacement of the civilians who were living in the surrounding areas.

Karwan Karim Khan, the mayor of Sidakan told a Kurdistan24 reporter that the bombardment of the Sidakan areas which is close to the Iranian border lasted two and a half hours.

Karimkhan said that villagers in the area were forced to leave their homes to protect their lives from the continuous bombing by the Iranian army, stating that people are scared and nervous about the bombardments. 

The Kurdistan24 reporter stated that a reporter from a local Kurdish media outlet who was covering the incidents on the Kurdistan-Iran borders was injured during the Iranian artillery shelling of Sidakan.

The Islamic Republic of Iran previously bombarding Kurdistan Region border in late June. According to Iranian officials, they target Kurdish rebel groups who have recently launched several attacks in Kurdish cities and villages in the northwest of Iran.

Previously, the KRG expressed its concern and asked the neighboring countries, Iran and Turkey, to end their attacks on the Kurdistan Region borders.

Additionally, the KRG urged PDKI and PKK not to use the Region’s border as military bases.

“We ask all parties to stop using Kurdistan territories to launch attacks against the neighbors of the Region, and to respect the stability, legal obligations, and friendly relations with its neighbors,” the KRG said.

Editing by Ava Homa