Turkish bombardment in the Bradost region
On September 6, Turkey’s Defense Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the end of Operation Claw-Tiger, the Turkish military ground campaign in the Haftanin area of the Kurdistan Region’s northern border with Turkey. Since the middle of June 2020, Turkish military operations have killed at least nine civilians, bringing the total killed since 2015 to at least 99. But ending Operation Claw-Tiger does not mean an end to civilian deaths or suffering.
The Turkish government is not withdrawing its troops from the region and Turkey’s bombing of villages in Iraq’s Kurdistan region continues. On September 8, only two days after Operation Claw-Tiger was ended, Turkey bombed six villages in the Amedi region of Duhok province from warplanes and with ground artillery. The destruction of homes and the devastation of agricultural lands this bombing causes has made life for villagers near impossible, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many have had their livelihoods destroyed and, despite the risks of the Covid-19 pandemic, have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety.
The Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI), in partnership with CPT-Iraqi Kurdistan and in solidarity all the civilians who are affected by these military attacks, calls for a complete and total ceasefire by Turkey, the withdrawal of all Turkey troops and the dismantling of its military installations in Iraqi Kurdistan.
