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WORLD NEWSMonday 11 April 2016
Turkish airstrikes empty dozens of villages in northern Iraq
BALINT SZLANKO
Associated Press
MERGA, Iraq (AP) — Doz-
ens of villages have been
abandoned and hundreds
of families displaced close
to Iraq’s northern border
with Turkey as a result of
Turkish airstrikes targeting of perhaps a dozen houses
militants from the Kurdis-
tan Workers’ Party, better
known as the PKK.
Of the 76 villages of the
Barwari sub-district of
Dohuk governorate, which
lies along the Turkish bor-
der, between half and a
third are empty, save for a
few people occasionally
returning to check on their
property or work on their
farms, according to Kurdish
government officials.
On a recent trip into the
mountains of northern Iraq,
long a refuge for the PKK
that has fought a three-
decade war against Turkey
for Kurdish rights, Associ-
ated Press reporters visited
the village of Merga, only
a few kilometers from the
Turkish border.
The village, a small hamlet
surrounded by oak, apple
and almond trees and set
in a green valley among
the snow-peaked moun-
tains of the Zagros moun-
tain range, had no inhabit-
ants left except for four old villages nearby — Hassa,
men who said they came
there only occasionally to
look after their gardens.
“The aircraft keep coming
here continuously. They
bomb the mountain, they
bomb the edge of the vil-
lages,” said Fawzi Ali, a lo- na, said of one airstrike
cal farmer, who had just
driven up from Dohuk,
Serbes Hussein, the mayor of the village of Asey, Iraq, one of have been evacuated.
the few villages still inhabited in the area close to the Turkish They had no exact infor-
border, poses for a photograph. Dozens of villages have been mation on how many peo-
abandoned and hundreds of families displaced close to Iraq’s ple have left the area as
northern border with Turkey as a result of Turkish air strikes tar- most seem to have moved
geting militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, better known as in with relatives or rented
the PKK. houses in nearby villages
and towns. Both officials
(AP Photo/Alice Martins) estimated that hundreds
of families have been af-
where he had moved such missiles before. These fected. Ali said the guerril-
with his family last year, missiles shook the houses las of the PKK were moving
to check on his property. and the fruits were falling through the mountain val-
“People cannot live here.” from the trees.” leys and it was clear that it
He said none of the four It is not clear exactly how was them that the aircraft
many villages have been were targeting.
Yekmal, Kharaba, and affected. According to Is- “They are in the area but
Shilaza — had any people mail Mustafa Rashid, gov- nobody knows where they
in them. ernor of the Amedi district, are exactly. They are in the
“There is nothing here. which includes Barwari, 35 mountains. They are every-
Nothing except the moun- villages have been aban- where,” he said.
tains,” he said. doned. According to Aziz Going up to the village
Another man, Isho Iohan- Mohammed Taher, head and back, a team of AP re-
of the agricultural depart- porters passed by PKK pa-
that, “We had never seen ment in Barwari, 25 villages trols three times, driving on
the mountain roads in their
trucks.
In the village of Asey, the
last populated settlement
on the road toward the
border, Mayor Serbes Hus-
sein said people had start-
ed abandoning their vil-
lages in the summer of last
year when the airstrikes first
began.
He said the conflict was
having a big impact on the
area.q
Philippines vows to ‘destroy’ Abu Sayyaf militants
JIM GOMEZ nearly 10 hours Saturday aims to “finally destroy the
Associated Press in the hinterlands on Basi- Abu Sayyaf, especially now
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — lan island. At least five mili- that we have found the ex-
Philippine military officials tants, including a Moroc- act location of the group.”
vowed Sunday to “destroy” can fighter, were killed, the A major offensive on Sat-
the Abu Sayyaf extremist military said. urday targeted Abu Sayy-
group with more offensives The large number of ca- af commander Isnilon
after fierce fighting over sualties were reported as Hapilon, who has publicly
the weekend left 18 soldiers the Philippines marked the pledged allegiance to the
dead in the government’s Day of Valor Saturday to Islamic State group and
largest single-day combat remember Filipino veterans has been hunted for years
loss so far this year. who died in World War II. for his alleged role in sever-
Defense Secretary Voltaire “After we grieve for our al terrorist attacks, military
Gazmin and top military soldiers, we shall continue officials said.
officials flew to the south the fight,” Gazmin and the Washington has offered
to meet most of the 53 sol- military said in a joint state- a reward of up to $5 mil-
diers who were wounded ment. lion for information leading
in fighting with Abu Sayyaf Army chief Lt. Gen. Edu- to Hapilon’s capture and
militants that raged for ardo Ano said the military prosecution.q