Calling for end to Turkish bombardments
Villagers block road amid ongoing Turkish incursion in Duhok
AMEDI – Villagers in Duhok’s Amedi district protested on Wednesday, blocking roads and demanding an end to Turkish bombardment amid ongoing clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known by its Kurdish initials PKK.
Turkey’s large-scale military operation against the PKK in Duhok governorate has led to the evacuation of several villages. The PKK, an armed Kurdish organization, has been in conflict with the Turkish state over Kurdish rights since the early 1980s.
Residents expressed their frustration over the continuous bombardments. Ahmad Guherze, the village’s mukhtar (local head), told 964media, “The villagers… have been living under constant threat, fearing for their lives.”
“The main road between Amedi and Deraluk has been closed, and we will not reopen it under any circumstances,” Guherze added. He emphasized that the road would remain closed unless authorities address the situation and visit the area.
“Our homes are being shelled, and this must be stopped by any means necessary,” he said.
The Turkish operations have significantly increased the threat of displacement in the rural areas of the Kurdistan Region near the border with Turkey. Out of 358 villages in Duhok’s Amedi district, 201 have been deserted due to the conflict between the Turkish military and the PKK.
In Deraluk, only 11 of 60 villages remain inhabited, while in Shiladze, just 7 out of 92 villages are still populated. In Chamanke sub-district, 10 out of 48 villages are deserted, and in Kani Masi, 12 out of 75 villages have been abandoned. The Sarsang sub-district has nearly 10 deserted villages out of 34, and in Bamerne, 2 of 24 villages are uninhabited.
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