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In brief

Attempted storming of Turkish base in Kurdistan Region of Iraq leaves two protesters killed

The protest, the first of its kind, denounced repeated bombardments by Turkey’s military against the area

 
A moment of the attempt to storm the Turkish base.
A moment of the attempt to storm the Turkish base. Author: Kurdistan24
A popular protest in Sheladize, in the north of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, against bombardment operations of the Turkish army has ended this weekend with two protesters killed at the hands of Turkish soldiers, according to local media reports. Several hundreds of protesters tried to assault a Turkish base in Iraqi Kurdish territory to protest against the killing of six people throughout the week due to bombardments carried out by Turkish planes.

Turkey repeatedly bombs the northern area of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region within the context of operations against the presence and partial control that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) keeps there. Not only that, but Turkey also maintains 20 military bases on Iraqi Kurdish land. This weekend’s attempted assault was the first time that a local population has carried out such an intense action against a Turkish base.

According to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Peshmerga, from the beginning of 2015 until the end of 2018 the Turkish army has carried out no less than 800 aircraft or mortar bombardments in the area.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement in which it announces that a protest will be handed to the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad. But Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has announced that bombardments will go on, and has blamed the PKK of having “infiltrated” protesters.