Nineteen families rescued from fire in Duhok’s Amedi district

DUHOK — Nineteen families were rescued from their villages following a fire outbreak in the Berwari Bala area of Duhok’s Amedi district, triggered by suspected Turkish shelling early Sunday morning. The fire, which remains uncontrolled, has wreaked havoc across several villages.

Kameran Osman, a member of the Kurdistan team with the Community Peacemaker Teams, reported that the blaze affected villages including Mega Qasre, Gresor, Elkishke, Jmblke, and Belizane. “The fire in Elkishke village has spread into the homes of the villagers, engulfing their orchards, farmland, and even the village cemetery. The intensity of the blaze has forced the closure of the main road for entering and exiting the village,” Osman stated.

Villagers informed 964media that Peshmerga forces from the 4th Brigade of the KRG Ministry of Peshmerga assisted in evacuating residents and attempting to extinguish the flames. Despite these efforts, the fire remains uncontained.

Reeder Massoud, a resident of Elkishke, expressed despair over the damage: “Because of the shelling, our village has suffered extensive damage to our trees and crops, and all our orchards and fields have burned.”

Preliminary estimates from the Community Peacemaker Teams suggest that approximately 593 acres of land, including forests and agricultural areas, have been destroyed due to ongoing conflict and Turkish military operations in the Berwari Bala region.

This incident follows recent airstrikes on Aug. 21, which ignited a large wildfire in the border areas of Galala and Qamish villages within the Sharbazher district of Sulaymaniyah province, leading to urgent calls from local residents for firefighting assistance.

The airstrikes are part of a broader series of Turkish military operations in the Kurdistan Region, targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Turkey has intensified its military activities in the region, including parts of the Amedi district in Duhok province, citing PKK presence. These operations have resulted in numerous casualties and significant environmental degradation in the area’s rural and mountainous locales.

A report by the Community Peacemaker Teams dated August 14 details the impact of military actions by Turkey and Iran in the region since 1991, noting that 425 civilians have died and another 420 have been injured in the Kurdistan Region due to these conflicts, with the majority of casualties attributed to Turkish operations. “Many of the casualties were going about their daily routines near the border, while some were killed or injured inside their homes among family members,” the report states.