Military Buildup - Security risks have forced farmers and shepherds in Iraqi KRG to relocate
Security risks have forced farmers and shepherds in Iraqi Kurdistan's Sidekan (Sîdekan) region to evacuate some areas, Roj News reported on Sunday.
Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) fighters and peshmerga forces affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) have escalated the conflict. On 13 September, the KDP reportedly deployed approximately 200 armored vehicles to Sidekan.
As Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited the region on 24 August, military activity intensified in the region. Turkey recently escalated attacks on Kurdish guerrilla positions, primarily in the Zap region. Meanwhile, KDP has been accused of providing tangible support to Turkey’s cross-border operations against the PKK in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
On Sunday, the People's Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the PKK, announced that 13 Turkish soldiers were killed in Zap during guerrilla action. It was announced on Saturday by the Turkish Ministry of Defence that more than 30 alleged PKK positions within the Kurdistan Region had been targeted over the past few days, resulting in several casualties.
Since April 2022, Turkey has been conducting military operations against Kurdish guerrilla forces in Zap, Metina (Metîna), and Avashin (Avaşîn) areas of northern Iraq.
