“We were irrigating our farm and suddenly heard someone calling us in Turkish,” Abbas Mustafa, a resident of Hirore village told Rudaw on Friday. “There were three or four of them.”
Mustafa said a Kurdish village guard from Turkey, who was working for the soldiers, joined them to translate.
The villager stated the soldiers warned him not to go too far from their village, not to carry weapons outside the village and not to drive a vehicle — otherwise they could be mistaken for PKK fighters.
“They said if PKK fighters pass through the village and fire at them (the Turkish soldiers), they will bombard them, no matter where they are,” he stated.
Another resident of the village, Lazgin Mohammed, said he was also called for a meeting with the soldiers.
“We were irrigating (our farms) in the village between 10:30 am to 11 am. I saw them (the soldiers) sitting with Abbas,” Mohammed told Rudaw.
Such meetings between the Turkish army and villagers are rare in the Kurdistan Region. The villagers said this is the first time Turkish soldiers have met with them.
Rudaw has learned the soldiers, who Mustafa said numbered about 20, established a military base in the vicinity of Hirore village three weeks ago. The soldiers spoke with the villagers for nearly half an hour.
Mohammed said the soldiers also questioned him about PKK movements in the area.
“They asked if we could see them (PKK fighters),” Mohammed said. “We told them we have never seen any of them and they have not bothered us.” He added the soldiers told them they would not bother or harm the villagers if PKK fighters were not present in the village.
“If they are close to the village it will be dangerous (for you). If they fire at us from the village, we will defend ourselves, disregarding the fact that it may affect you as well.” Mohammed said, quoting one of the soldiers.
Mustafa said he was asked to inform the chief of the village to prevent PKK movement there.
The Turkish army launched two military operations in Duhok province's Avashin, Basyan, and Metina areas on April 23. Their stated aim is to remove the PKK fighters from these areas.
Hirore village is located close to Kesta and Chalke villages, which have been heavily bombarded during both campaigns.
The PKK is a Kurdish armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara which regularly carries out military campaigns against the group at home and in the Kurdistan Region.
Although Turkish officials have said that they do not target civilians during the clashes with the PKK, there have been several civilian casualties in the Kurdistan Region due to Turkish bombardment.
Additional reporting by Naif Ramadhan
