PKK-Ankara conflict undermines tourism in Duhok, local official says

Shafaq News/ Tourism dwindled in Duhok in the aftermath of the ongoing conflict between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Ankara, the head of the governorate's tourism directorate Khairi Ali said in a press conference on Saturday.

"Tourist footfall decreased by eight percent due to the military operations," he said, "but we managed to mitigate their impact. Tourist traffic this year was higher than last year."

Ali said the Duhok will soon host an international assembly for tourism that will bring together dozens of international and domestic companies.

On July 20, nine civilians, including children, were killed in a park in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region by artillery fire that Baghdad blamed on neighboring Turkey, a country engaged in a cross-border offensive.

The victims included Iraqi tourists who had come to the northern hill village of Parakh in Zakho district to escape sweltering temperatures further south in the country.

Turkey launched an offensive in northern Iraq in April dubbed “Operation Claw-Lock”, which it said targets fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).