The Turkish state is pursuing a targeted policy of displacement in northern Iraq to permanently occupy KRI territories. Dozens of villages in northern Iraq have been forcibly evacuated to make way for the Turkish military.
According to a Rojnews agency report citing local sources, some unidentified people are wandering around villages in Zebarî region on the slopes of Mount Garê in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq). The people in question are threatening villagers, saying, “If you do not evacuate your villages by February 6, you are responsible for what will happen to you.”
The people threatening the villagers are reportedly linked to the Turkish intelligence service MIT and Parastin, the intelligence agency of the ruling KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party). The villages of Nibax, Bîrkekor and Kafiya in the Zebari region are among the threatened areas.
The threats and pressures raise the possibility of a new invasion attack on the region.
In the meantime, a video circulated on social media yesterday shows Turkish troops entering the village of Kêste in Behdînan and being warmly welcomed by a man named Omêd Seîd.
Turkish war policy in South Kurdistan
Attacks by Turkey that violate international law have been routine in southern Kurdistan for years. The Turkish air force regularly bombs the territory of the KRI and Iraq, especially where PKK guerrillas are suspected. But civilian settlements are also regularly attacked by the Turkish army. With its aerial terror, Ankara is pursuing a targeted policy of displacement - in particular by destroying civilian infrastructure. The aim is to drive out the guerrillas and permanently occupy the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) territories.
Since Turkey expanded its occupation offensive ‘Operation Claw Lock’ in South Kurdistan in June 2022, there have been daily attacks in the region. According to the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Iraqi Kurdistan, numerous villages in the area around Kanî Masî have already been depopulated as a result of Turkish military violence, and other villages are threatened with the same fate. The international community is ignoring Turkey's crimes in its neighboring country.
As a result of the fascist Turkish state's attacks and bombardments targeting the whole of South Kurdistan with the aim of occupying and annexing it, many villages have been evacuated, the civilian population has been massacred, the nature of Kurdistan has been plundered, but the governments of Kurdistan Region and Iraq have still not taken any steps to stop the attacks. On the contrary, they meet with Turkish state officials every other day and watch the martyrdom of Kurdish civilians.
