VIDEO: Illegal digging of historic sites in Kurdistan's Akre pushes locals to alert government

A mystery has swept the people of Akre as their lands are being dug and spoiled by an unknown person or group. Now, locals are calling on the government to investigate.
kurdistan24.net

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A mystery has swept the people of Akre as their lands are being dug and spoiled by an unknown person or group.

Locals in the Kurdistan Region’s Akre area are calling on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to investigate the illegal digging and bring those responsible to justice.

According to residents in Akre’s Artin village, the unknown person(s) dug up to 20 sites in one night.

“During the previous night, 20 spots were dug up between our village and another nearby one, digging up archaeological sites and grave sites,” Nayif Hashim told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

“We are calling on the security and the government to help us,” he added. “This is a big problem. It is not right for strangers to come and ruin our land.”

Another local, Faqe Saeed, said he hopes the KRG finds out who is responsible for the crime.

“At night, our land is dug up. We don’t know who is responsible. The government must come and investigate,” Saeed stated.  

There are at least 700 archaeological sites in the Akre region. In the past, there have been reports of people illegally digging up the land in the area in search of valuables.

Hiwa Shamal, the Director of Akre Archaeology, told Kurdistan 24 the matter must be resolved soon.

“An unknown group is responsible for this,” Shamal said, “and we want to find out who it is, so this can end.”

(Additional reporting by Ari Hussein)