Jun 04, 2014

Iraqi Kurdistan: Kurdish Village Shelled By Turkish Military


The Kurdish village Nezduri in the northern province of Dohuk was shelled by the Turkish military according to security officials and witnesses. The aim of the shelling was not clear, but in the past Turkish forces have targeted the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which operated from northern Iraq for decades before declaring a ceasefire in March 2013. There were no casualties.

Below is an article by the Global Post

The Turkish military shelled a village in Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region on Monday [2 June 2014], security officials and witnesses said, after a period of relative peace in the area.

Turkish mortar shells hit Nezduri village near the town of Zakho, in the northern Kurdish province of Dohuk, local Kurdish security forces and residents told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The target of the shelling, which did not cause any casualties, was not immediately clear.

In the past, Turkish forces have targeted the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish group with rear bases in northern Iraq that fought Turkey for decades before declaring a truce with Ankara in March 2013.

But the peace process stalled in September 2013 when the PKK announced they were suspending their retreat from Turkish soil, accusing the government of failing to deliver on promised reforms. PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan subsequently issued a statement in April 2014 warning of a possible return to violence. The PKK took up arms for Kurdish independence in southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.