Olivia Cavallaro
Residents of two villages were forced to evacuate when Turkish forces attacked an Iraqi province on the anniversary of the Ottoman-era genocide of Christians.
The Christian residents of two villages in the Duhok Province of Iraq were forced to flee as Turkey launched airstrikes in the area. Residents of Kesta Village evacuated by May 3 with some retreating to the nearby Chalke Village, which was then evacuated over the weekend save for one person.
According to International Christian Concern, Turkey's airstrikes became increasingly aggressive in April, enabling their forces to establish new military bases in the area. The timing is believed to coincide with the anniversary of Ottoman-era genocide of Christians.
Officials reportedly said Turkey also deployed chemical weapons at least three times in the area since the military operation began, claiming that these were part of national security operations against the PKK terrorist group inside Iraq.
Footage from the two Christian villages showed families evacuating as the airstrikes continued in the background. The community traveled through a rural, mountainous region, often over difficult roads together with their farming livelihood. Iraqi media showed footage of the airstrike damage.
One man who refused to leave the Chalke Village vowed that he would not abandon his home despite the airstrikes.
"I have not abandoned my house and will not until I die. I sleep in my house, disregarding the constant bombardment," Yousef Zayya, the man who stayed behind, told Rudaw.
The Anadolu Agency reported over the weekend that the Turkish security forces discovered a four-room cave in the Avasin-Basyan region which housed PKK terrorists in northern Iraq. They also found that the cave, which could house up to 50 terrorists, also had a "separate room with a steel door for hostages."
Turkish security forces confiscated nine improvised explosives and ammunition for 10 mortars. In a separate operation, Turkish security forces also seized weapons and ammunition in a cave in the Avasin-Basyan region where they neutralized six PKK terrorists in an anti-terror operation held on Sunday.
According to Daily Sabah, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) that launched airstrikes in the Gara region were able to eliminate at least 16 of 19 terrorists in two separate operations in northern Iraq. The ministry said that operations are continuing in the area to eliminate PKK terrorist groups. The TSK's large-scale military operation against the said group began in northern Iraq on April 23.
Turkey reiterated that it would not tolerate terrorist threats and called upon Iraqi officials to contain the threat. PKK's 40-year terror campaign against Turkey has led many countries to label it as a terrorist organization, including the United States and the European Union.
In April, President Joe Biden spoke with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the U.S. President recognized the Ottoman-Era genocide in April 1915. According to NPR, President Biden said in a statement, "Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring."
Turkey has rejected historians' definition of the 1915 event as a genocide, which is why Biden's declaration may cause friction between the two nations despite the U.S. President's wishes to create a "constructive bilateral relationship with expanded areas of cooperation and effective management of disagreements" with Turkey.
