Kurdistan
Iraqi border guards manning an outpost in Duhok province's Shiladze on February 23, 2024. Photo: Iraqi Ministry of Interior
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi border guards on Thursday started manning a new checkpoint in Duhok province’s Amedi on the Turkish border, in an attempt to secure the area amid ongoing clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“To control the entire Iraqi border with neighboring countries in the far north … and in the harshest weather conditions and most difficult terrain, a force from the First Border Brigade under its command was able to advance towards the zero-line of the border strip,” Iraq’s interior ministry said in a statement.
The border guards are deployed to the Iraq-Turkey border strip in Duhok province’s Shiladze subdistrict.
“Outposts equipped with modern technologies will be built as part of the interior ministry’s efforts, represented by the border forces [being deployed], to effectively control the borders, monitor suspicious cases, and confront outlaws,” the statement said.
The deployment came two days after a Turkish airstrike killed two villagers near Akre in Duhok province as they were tending to their farms.
Turkey frequently bombards the northern mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of targeting PKK fighters.
Tensions have escalated between Turkish forces and the PKK in Shiladze and Deralok in recent weeks. Clashes between the two sides forced the residents of four Deralok villages to evacuate out of fear for their lives.
At least seven Turkish soldiers have been confirmed dead in clashes with the PKK in the Kurdistan Region since the beginning of the year, according to the Turkish defense ministry.
Iraq’s border guards have in recent years increased their military bases in Duhok province in a bid to minimise the effect of PKK-Turkey clashes on civilians.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Many families have been forced to flee their homes in the Kurdistan Region's villages because of clashes, especially those in northern Duhok province near the border with Turkey, leaving entire villages empty. A Kurdistan Region parliamentary report published in 2020 said that the Turkey-PKK conflict has left over 500 villages empty across the Region.
“To control the entire Iraqi border with neighboring countries in the far north … and in the harshest weather conditions and most difficult terrain, a force from the First Border Brigade under its command was able to advance towards the zero-line of the border strip,” Iraq’s interior ministry said in a statement.
The border guards are deployed to the Iraq-Turkey border strip in Duhok province’s Shiladze subdistrict.
“Outposts equipped with modern technologies will be built as part of the interior ministry’s efforts, represented by the border forces [being deployed], to effectively control the borders, monitor suspicious cases, and confront outlaws,” the statement said.
The deployment came two days after a Turkish airstrike killed two villagers near Akre in Duhok province as they were tending to their farms.
Turkey frequently bombards the northern mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region under the pretext of targeting PKK fighters.
Tensions have escalated between Turkish forces and the PKK in Shiladze and Deralok in recent weeks. Clashes between the two sides forced the residents of four Deralok villages to evacuate out of fear for their lives.
At least seven Turkish soldiers have been confirmed dead in clashes with the PKK in the Kurdistan Region since the beginning of the year, according to the Turkish defense ministry.
Iraq’s border guards have in recent years increased their military bases in Duhok province in a bid to minimise the effect of PKK-Turkey clashes on civilians.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Many families have been forced to flee their homes in the Kurdistan Region's villages because of clashes, especially those in northern Duhok province near the border with Turkey, leaving entire villages empty. A Kurdistan Region parliamentary report published in 2020 said that the Turkey-PKK conflict has left over 500 villages empty across the Region.
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