KRG: Iran must respect Kurdistan sovereignty, stop bombing
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Friday, the Independent Human Rights Commission in Kurdistan Region urged Tehran to respect the sovereignty of the Region and stop shelling the Kurdistan Region territory.
In a statement, the Commission expressed its concern that Iran bombs Kurdistan Region border and called Tehran to respect the international law and the sovereignty of the Region.
The Commission stated that the bombardment has inflicted heavy damages to the environment and farms in the area as well as the displacement of the villagers near the border.
On Thursday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards once again began shelling the mountainous areas and the villages of Sidakan town, Erbil Province, targeting Iranian Kurdish fighters.
“We believe that fighting has never been the language of resolving issues, but deepening them and bringing destruction to the area,” the Commission’s statement continued. “Kurdistan Region and its people cannot be victims of tensions and problems between the Islamic Republic of Iran and its opposition.”
The statement called on both sides to respect the territory of Kurdistan Region as Kurdish people near the border often get wounded and lose their lives beside the damage inflicted on their house and farms.
Additionally, the Commission asked both sides to respect Kurdistan Region people and the fact that Peshmerga is fighting Islamic State (IS). The statement urged all to fight the jihadist group from one front.
On Thursday, 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.
Editing by Ava Homa