The villagers of Gelale at the skirts of the Asos mountain are protesting the Turkish jets’ air strikes and they said, “We are paralyzed with the Turkish state’s aerial attacks, we are not safe anymore.”
Turkish fighter jets bombing the Asos Mountain in Sulaymaniyah’s Mawen town three times in November has harmed the residents of the region severely. Gelale villagers protested the air strikes and spoke to Roj News about their experience.
Mihemed Ehmed, a villager in the Gelale village by the skirts of the Asos Mountain, is furious that the Turkish jets have carried out 3 bombings in one month. Ehmed said they don’t have any safety left due to the bombings, and that their gardens and orchards have suffered damages in the attacks. He continued: “Fighters jets dropped bombs very close to our village. The hill near our village was bombed for an hour on the night of November 27. The villagers were very frightened. 6 families had to leave their homes. We no longer have any security due to attacks.”
Ehmed said the Kurdistan Regional Government’s silence in the face of these attacks is also very disturbing and continued: “If these bombings continue, we will have to evacuate our villages. Because we can’t work in the gardens or orchards. We can’t take our animals out to pasture. Why doesn’t the government stop this? Turkey downed a Russian plane for invading their airspace for mere minutes. The Turkish jets bomb the Kurdistan region constantly, but nobody is saying anything. Turkish state bombings are harming the civilian population.
Herdî Salih, a young man from Gelale, said the Turkish state had bombed the Gelale region before and added: “The Turkish state’s attacks cause harm for the people. But the government acts like nothing happened. Despite all these attacks, they are silent and they can’t even unite among themselves. These attacks must not be allowed anymore.”
Mihemed Ebdulrehman said the Turkish fighter jets’ bombing is causing great concern among the population. He added that their village is very close to the Asos Mountain and the villagers were affected severely by the bombing. Mihemed Ebdulrehman demanded that the Turkish state end their attacks and said: “They want the people to leave their villages. The people are paralyzed. If there is a government, they must take steps to protect their territory and air space. But this government unfortunately doesn’t protect its territory or its citizens.”
