Turkey bombs a village in South Kurdistan

Turkey continues its military actions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) in violation of international law. On Monday, Turkish fighter jets bombed the village of Welatjêryan (also Wilatjêrî) in Barzan, north of Hewlêr (Erbil). A slightly higher mountain was struck, but the residential areas in the valley can be reached by a short hike. Information about casualties or the extent of the destruction caused by the attack was not immediately available.

Barzan is a larger village that administratively belongs to the Hewlêr governorate. It is located about 20 kilometres from the Turkish border at an altitude of about 700 metres. The village belongs to the district of Mêrgesor.

The Turkish government is bombing targets in the KRI almost daily. It is not only areas where the guerrillas are suspected that are attacked. Civilian settlement areas are also systematically bombed. Nevertheless, the airspace controlled by the USA and Iraq remains free for Turkish warplanes.

On 1 February, simultaneous air strikes by Turkey on the Yazidi heartland of Shengal and the Maxmur refugee camp in Iraq and Dêrik in Rojava killed nine people. Dozens more were injured, some of them seriously. The international community remains silent in the face of these war crimes committed by the Turkish state.