Iran shells Kurdistan Region, displaces civilians

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iranian artillery on Saturday resumed shelling of areas on the Kurdistan Region-Iran border.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards began heavy artillery shelling at 8:30 a.m. local time in the Bradost area in Sidakan district northern Erbil.

The attack occurred about 15 kilometers inside the Kurdistan Region causing the displacement of civilians living in the surrounding areas.

Turkey and Iran regularly bomb and shell the Region border areas, targeting Kurdish rebel groups fighting government forces in both countries.

These groups include the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and fighters from the Kurdistan Democratic Party – Iran (PDKI).

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had asked both Turkey and Iran to stop bombing the Kurdistan Region.

Additionally, they urged Kurdish opposition parties not to use the Region’s soil to attack neighboring countries.

The recent bombardment by the Revolutionary Guards was due to claims of Kurdish opposition groups fighting Iranian forces inside the Kurdish-populated areas of western Iran.

According to a Kurdistan24 reporter, there were no signs of any Kurdish opposition group in the bombarded areas except civilians who fled in fear of being hit by the heavy shelling.

Several families who had recently returned to their homes, fleeing the bombardment, have been displaced, the Kurdistan24 reporter said.

One of the residents in the area told the reporter more than 60 families had been displaced.

Civilians began retreating towards the Sidakan district, leaving all their agriculture and livestock behind.   

This is the third time Iranian artillery bombarded the Kurdistan Region amid concerns from the KRG.

On June 26 and Aug. 11, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards began shelling the mountainous areas and villages of Sidakan town, Erbil Province.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Teyfur Mihemed contributed to this report from Sidakan)