Turkish shelling forces the Christian villages' residents to leave their homes

Shafaq News / Residents of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq reported, on Wednesday, that Turkish shelling in the border areas has caused the displacement of Christian residents from villages in Darkar, east of Zakho district, north of the governorate.

Amir, a resident of Sharanish village in Darkar district, told Shafaq News agency, "Turkish bombing damaged our village recently, which forced us to flee the village. We left our pastures, farms and livestock".

For his part, Zirvan Moussa, Director of Darkar District, told Shafaq news agency, "We have 11 villages, nine of which are located on the borders. The residents of three of these villages displaced due to the Turkish bombardment".

Moussa added, "the citizens of the border villages are not able to return to their villages and take care of their farms", noting that, "they have been stranded since the beginning of the Turkish military operation last June".

Regarding the situation of the displaced citizens, the director of Darkar district said, "The displaced were distributed among the center of Darkar sub-district and the center of the Zakho district, while many of them went abroad".

Turkish aerial and artillery forces have been intensively bombing border areas in Kurdistan Region since June 21, 2020, under the pretext of the presence of anti-Ankara Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters.

The attacks led to human and material losses in border villages in Kurdistan Region, which prompted the regional government's condemnation and the Iraqi government's summoning of Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad more than once.

For years, the Turkish army has been carrying out military operations against Kurdish militants, whom it considers terrorists, in response to attacks carried out or planned by PKK militants.