On July 20, Parakh resort in Zakho’s Darkar subdistrict was packed with tourists who had fled scorching weather in the Iraqi central and southern provinces. However, it suddenly came under shelling which killed nine tourists and injured over 30 others. The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) blamed Turkey for the incident. Ankara denied having any role in the civilian casualties.
Over 300 people, which includes resort owners, workers, drivers, and vendors, who worked in Parakh and the nearby Dashtatax, Sharash and Bihere resorts have lost their jobs after the local security forces imposed an entry ban on these places. Only villagers are allowed in, according to the Darkar mayor’s office.
“Some used to sell honey and others used to sell cultural goods. The owners of the resorts have invested money. The tourist sector has severely been hit in our area in recent days,” Darkar Mayor Dlsher Abdulsattar told Rudaw’s Yusif Musa on Thursday.
Masoud Ali said he invested $70,000 in establishing Parakh resort.
“I established this resort ten years ago. There is a great loss,” he said, adding that he has lost about $13400 since the shelling. Thirty people who worked on the resort have lost their jobs.
Matin Tatar used to work at one of these resorts. He told Rudaw that about 200-300 buses of tourists used to visit the area every week.
The locals called on the KRG to end the ban on tourists’ entry to these resorts.
The incident has also hit the tourism sector in other parts of Zakho administration and Duhok province.
Protests were held in several Iraqi provinces the day following the attack, with demonstrators calling for the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador to Iraq and the reduction of diplomatic ties with Turkey.
The deadly shelling has severely damaged Ankara-Baghdad relations, with the latter filing a complaint against the former at the United Nations Security Council. However, the recent political deadlock in Iraq has ended the nation-wide campaign against Turkey.
