Shafaq News / A local official in Duhok stated on Friday, that the Turkish army penetrated into a village in governorate and set fire to the homes of citizens before it withdrew to the heights surrounding the village.

The director of Bativa district of Duhok governorate, Delshir Abdelsattar, told Shafaq News agency that the Turkish army entered Banki village north of the district, tracking PKK fighters.

Abdelsattar added that the Turkish soldiers set fire to three houses in the village, indicating that those houses were empty as their owners were displaced, fearing for their lives from the Turkish military operations in the area, pointing that the Turkish troops retreated to positions in the mountains surrounding the village.

It is noteworthy that the village of Banki in Batifa district, is the only village in that area whose residents have not left and it also houses dozens of displaced families from other border villages.

In mid-June 2020, Turkey launched a military operation to pursue PKK fighters and headquarters in the northern areas of Kurdistan region, causing human and material losses and the displacement of many residents of the border villages in Kurdistan Region.