SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A number of Turkish troops temporarily entered a village in the Kurdistan Region’s sub-district of Kani Mase on Friday, witnesses said.
Residents of Hirure village told Esta Media Network that a number of Turkish soldiers had asked about the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the area as they entered the village.
“They left the area after 30 minutes,” they said.
The soldiers were stationed in a military point near Kavrasure area close to the village, the villagers added.
“The soldiers told us to stay away from the conflict areas and not to enter lands that are far from the village, and that even if we have weapons, we must not hold them,” villager Safar Hirure told Esta Media Network.
In April, the Turkish military set up three new military points in Hirure, Chalki and Kesta villages in Amedi district, northeast of Duhok, during a new ground and air defensive against the PKK in Duhok province.
The Turkish military has entered nearly 10 kilometers deep into the Kurdistan Region, according to Kurdish officials.
Turkey has established a dozen military bases on the Kurdistan Region’s border as part of a military campaign against the PKK.
Turkey regularly carries out air and ground attacks against the PKK in the Kurdistan Region. It says neither the Iraqi government nor the Kurdish government has taken measures to combat the group.
