Feuer nach türkischem Bombardement in Irakisch-Kurdistan

Seit Wochen führt die türkische Armee eine Militäroffensive im Nordirak durch. Nun ist auch die Provinz Suleymaniah betroffen.

Bislang konzentrierten sich türkische Angriffe im Rahmen einer neuen Offensive gegen die kurdische Arbeiterpartei (PKK) im Nordirak auf die Provinz Dohuk, wo es in in letzter Zeit immer wieder zu heftigen Gefechten kam. Nun scheint die Türkei auch erneut Ziele im weiter südlich gelegenen Suleymaniah bombardiert zu haben. Das jedenfalls berichtet Rudaw und spricht von einem Großfeuer, das in Folge ausgebrochen ist:

A large fire has been burning in eastern Sulaimani province’s Mawat district since Friday evening, allegedly due to Turkish bombardment of the area. There are no reports of casualties.

Kamaran Hassan, Mawat’s mayor, told Rudaw on Saturday that warplanes targeted Galala village in the district at around 11:00 pm Friday, setting fire to a large area of fields and pastures.

In the hot and dry summer, fires are easily sparked and can spread quickly.

Turkey intensified its military operations in the Kurdistan Region in mid-June, under the pretext of targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

In addition to Mawat, suspected Turkish warplanes also struck Erbil’s Choman and Sidakan districts on Friday evening, Kamaran Osman, a member of the US-based Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) - Iraqi Kurdistan team, told Rudaw.

Rojnews, a PKK-affiliated media outlet, reported that Turkish strikes also targeted Aghjalar subdistrict, west of Sulaimani, on Saturday.

Hundreds of Turkish troops and military vehicles have been deployed into the Kurdistan Region since June, establishing checkpoints and conducting patrols in northern Duhok’s Barwari Bala area. The military campaign has sparked renewed fears among villagers.

At least nine people have been killed in Turkish attacks on the Kurdistan Region since the start of the year, according to Osman.