ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Areas of the Kurdistan Region bordering Turkey, recently deforested by the Turkish army, used to be so dense with trees that the sky was practically blocked out, witnesses told Rudaw English.
An eyewitness, whose photographs of deforested areas in Duhok province went viral recently, spoke on the condition of anonymity to Rudaw English about what he saw during his recent trip to the border region.
“Ten years ago, we used to smuggle animals from Turkey to the Kurdistan Region through these areas. The forests were so dense that we could barely see the sky. We were also able to pass the border without being noticed by Turkish soldiers - thanks to the trees,” the witness recounted.
He was referring to a series of mountains near Nizure, Kesta and Hirore villages in Duhok province. The vicinity of these areas has been invaded by the Turkish army since it launched two military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on April 23.
Most of the residents of these villages have fled their homes due to intense clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK in the vicinity of, and sometimes inside, the villages.
Turkey deforested a number of areas in Duhok province last year to clear a path going from its border village of Roboski to the Haftanin area of Duhok. This year, the country has cleared three paths from Roboski to its bases near Nizure, Kesta and Hirore villages, the eyewitness said.
Sheikh Mus Babat, a contractor who has been asked to clear paths for Turkish soldiers in Duhok, confirmed the deforestation to Rudaw on Tuesday, saying, “We have built a road at Haftanin that extends 74 kilometers into Iraq and another company has built a 38-kilometer road between Ashite village and the Kesta Mountains.”
“It is true the trees have been cut down, however it is only to provide heat for the Turkish soldiers,” he added. “The trees have not been sent to Turkish cities."
The witness who spoke to Rudaw English is from a village in Turkey which borders the deforested areas in the Kurdistan Region. He says most of the greenery in the photographs he has submitted to Rudaw is not trees but grass. The photographs were taken on Friday.
“I call on everyone to rescue these areas,” he said.
Wim Zwijnburg, a conflict and environment analyst with the Dutch peace organization PAX, confirmed the deforestation process on the border in a series of tweets, providing satellite images of the area before and after the deforestation.
He said the Turkish army has constructed “numerous roads” over the last years as part of its military operations against the PKK “to link various military outposts on mountain tops.”
A satellite image he shared with a tweet shows that the Kurdistan Region’s mountainous areas were mostly green on May 14, 2020 but almost all the trees seem to have been cut down by May 14 this year.
“In other areas, the road construction didn’t merely cut down trees to make space but larger parts of the forest were cut down,” said the analyst, sharing a satellite image which shows the area Turkey has used to clear a path has been left with almost no trees in the last year.
🆕Using satellite imagery we found 81km of new roads and 13.5 km of reactivated/expanded roads in Iraqi #Kurdistan that can be linked with increased logging of trees. These roads are likely used in the Turkish military campaign against the PKK. Full map below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AtcuBFzpS1
— Wim Zwijnenburg (@wammezz) June 2, 2021
The news about Turkey’s deforestation in Duhok province was first heard from Reving Hirori, a member of the Kurdistan Parliament. He told Rudaw last week that the Turkish army in coordination with a Turkish company has begun cutting down trees in newly-invaded areas of Duhok in order to sell them.
He later told Rudaw English he used to visit the areas bordering Turkey when he was a Peshmerga fighter decades ago. “The forests were so intense that one could not see the sky," echoing the witness's statement.
Turkey and the PKK have clashed in the forested areas and other areas near the border for decades, severely harming the region’s natural environment. The conflict used to be focused more in Kurdish areas inside Turkey, but is now more focused on the Kurdistan Region.
Ferhat Encu is a former lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey. He told Rudaw English on Tuesday he has been following the deforestation process for years. Encu is from Roboski - a village best known for the 2011 massacre in which Encu lost 11 members of his family. The Turkish army killed 34 Kurds, mostly children, in the massacre.
“When they [Turkey] set up a base, they prepare a road for it. They cut down all the trees that come before them when making way for new routes. All the trees in this area have been cut down,” said Encu.
He agreed that the cross-border areas in the Kurdistan Region near his home village used to be full of trees, but said this has changed now.
He added he has spoken with several people from the villages, including state-affiliated village guards. “They said that they cut down trees which come before them when making roads.”
Encu accused soldiers and the village guards of the deforestation. “They cut down the trees and transport them via tractors and trucks [to Turkey] and sell them. The villagers have protested this.”
The deforestation news has concerned many people, with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) saying it has warned Turkish authorities they should stop this “unacceptable” act.
Kurdish officials say they have contacted Turkish authorities, asking them to investigate the claims. Duhok Governor Ali Tatar’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that he has spoken with Turkish Consul General in Erbil Hakan Karacay and Sirnak Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan about the deforestation claims.
“They stressed that this is abuse and is unacceptable. They also called on everyone to report the felling of trees anywhere in the government with evidence so that they can investigate it and prevent the abuse,” read the statement without clarifying which government should people report the abuse to.
Dlsher Abdulsattar, the acting mayor of Zakho, told Rudaw that Turkish authorities have told him the photographs of deforestation are old, claiming they have not cut down any trees.
Rudaw English reached out to the office of the Sirnak governor but has yet to receive a response.
Huseyin Kacmaz, a lawmaker for the HDP, told Rudaw Turkey “intentionally” cuts down trees in the Kurdistan Region.
