Christian locals in Duhok terrorized by Turkey's bombings

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A sudden loud bang late Saturday night terrified Faiza Rahim, a Christian teacher from Duhok province’s Bersife sub-district; she soon realized it was a Turkish air strike atop a hilltop only two kilometers from her house.

"Last night at 10:55 [pm], a huge bang reverberated through our house. When I rushed outdoors, I noticed flames billowing just two kilometres from our house," Rahim, 55, told Rudaw English of the airstrike. "I was terrified by the massive bang. I therefore rushed inside and locked the doors, without knowing what had happened to my house or our neighbourhood."

The Kurdistan Region's border areas have come under bombardment by Turkish and Iranian strikes over the past six days as part of a military offensive aimed at targeting suspected Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in the region. The Turkish aerial assault began on June 15, but was upgraded to a ground-based assault with boots on ground on June 17.

"No one dared to come out until this morning," she added.

"As soon as the sun rose, I went to the front courtyard and saw that my car's windows had been completely smashed by a giant piece of shrapnel that had fallen onto it," Rahim claimed.

She says that neighbors in the Christian neighborhood were "all terrified by the bombing, including children, women, men and elderly."

Neighbors have been visiting Rahim, who is unmarried and lives alone in a large house, since the morning to check in on her. Among them is Nalin Khalil, 13, who says the "big bang" smashed her family’s windows, "instilling fear.”

"It was a huge sound which smashed our windows, frightening us," Khalil recounted, adding that her family thought they would be "killed by the bombing".

Video footage circulating on social media purportedly shows children crying during the bombings, as their relatives suss out the situation.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the massive Turkish offensive. Since last Monday, five locals are confirmed to have been killed by the Turkish airstrikes including four civilians in Shiladze and Kani Masi towns in Duhok and one shepherd in Erbil province's Sidakan region, bordering Iran.

Christian community members have taken to social media platforms calling on Turkey to stop the bombardment and the KRG and Iraqi governments to take actions against the violation of the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

"Where is the Iraqi government and the KRG???" asked Naseem George in comment on a video of the Turkey's airstrikes published by Ishtar TV last night.

Janoo Y Qasha says in another comment that the bombings "reminded" her of the days when the Islamic State (ISIS) group attacked Christian villages and towns in Nineveh province in 2014 and ensuing years.

Lena Binyamin calls on Turkey to end what she calls "the massacre" in Iraq.

For decades, both the PKK and Turkish forces have set up military installations along the Turkey-Iraq border. The rough, mountainous region is home mostly to poor farmers who struggle to earn a living. The area is also home to PKK guerillas who use the Qandil Mountains area as a base of operations.

Zervan Musa, mayor of Darkare sub-district in Zakho told Rudaw English that Christian villages have "greately suffered" from Turkey's past bombardments in the area. He says "many of them remain uninhabited, as the locals are not willing to return, fearing the frequent bombings."

On Saturday, hundreds of locals in Shiladze poured onto the streets protesting the ongoing Turkish airstrikes and ground campaign, calling on the PKK and Turkey to take their decades-long conflict back to their country.

Turkey has defended its past operations in the Kurdistan Region and northern Iraq, saying neither the Iraqi government nor the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have acted to remove PKK insurgents from the area.

Christian locals in Duhok terrorized by Turkey's bombings

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