Turkish bombardment causes property damage in Zakho
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Late on Thursday, Turkish artillery hit a house in a village in the Kurdistan Region’s Zakho district, causing severe damage to the home, sources explained to Kurdistan 24.
The bombardment came in the context of Turkey’s new military operations—dubbed Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger—against its three-decades-long rival, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), whom it charges maintains positions inside the Kurdistan Region.
The damaged house is located in Avlah village in Darkar, a sub-district of Zakho.
Because members of the household were not at home at the time, the shelling did not cause civilian casualties. The residents had, luckily, left to left to attend a wedding party before the bombardment began, sources told Kurdistan 24.
“They learned of the attack on their house, when they arrived home the next day,” the source added.
The head of the household took a video of the scene and sent it to Kurdistan 24, as he described the damage to his home from the Turkish shelling.
Since the beginning of Turkey’s military operations, out of the 25 villages in Zakho’s sub-district of Darkar, the residents of 16 villages have fled because of the Turkish incursion—which stretches 14 kilometers into the Kurdistan Region. Turkish armed forces have erected military outposts on points in the area that they consider to be strategic.
The 16 villages that have been evacuated were inhabited by both Muslim and Christian villagers. As Kurdistan 24 has previously reported, over ten Christian villages in the Zakho district have been emptied, due to clashes between Turkey and the PKK in the area.
Read More: Over 10 Christian villages evacuate as PKK-Turkey clashes intensify
In addition to the civilian casualties and displacement caused by the ongoing clashes between Turkey and the PKK in the border districts of the Kurdistan Region, the Turkish bombardments are also severely disrupting local agriculture and making it nearly impossible for farmers to do their jobs and earn a living.
Read More: Ongoing Turkish bombing of Kurdistan Region destroys farmers' livelihoods
On multiple occasions, the residents of such areas, as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government, have called on the Turkish military and the PKK to take their fighting elsewhere.
Additional reporting by Kurdistan 24 Correspondent Islam Yousif
Editing by Laurie Mylroie