Two shepherds injured by Turkish armed forces in Sidekan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two shepherds were injured by Turkish forces on Friday while grazing their sheep and were taken to the hospital.

The two shepherds Lazim Murad Hamadamin and Bahzad Awdi Yusif were injured in the village of Khalifan on the border of the Sidekan district.

Ehsan Chalabi, Mayor of Sidekan, the administrative center of the Bradost border area, told Kurdistan 24 that the health situation of the two shepherds is stable and that they were taken to the hospital.

The safety of civilians living in rural mountainous border areas of the Kurdistan Region have frequently been threatened by the ongoing conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Kurdish officials have repeatedly called on Turkey and the PKK to take their fight out of the region for the sake of its civilians and their livelihoods. 

A large number of villages have been emptied by the PKK-Turkish fighting, and farmers cannot use their land because of the dangers posed by the conflict. 

Duhok Governor Dr. Ali Tatar told reporters on January 12 that the presence of ‘illegal armed forces’ is the biggest problem for the Duhok province, and especially for the Amedi district. 

“It has also caused a foreign state (Turkey) to enter the region,” he said.