The Turkish state escalated its genocidal attacks across Kurdistan territory thanks to international silence and inaction in the face of its crimes against the Kurdish people. Turkey has been escalating its attacks against civilian settlements in South Kurdistan, especially since April 2022. While the increasingly ongoing attacks have killed many civilians, dozens of villages have been evacuated.

Turkey has massively expanded its occupation operation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in recent weeks and is preparing its long-announced “summer offensive” against the Kurdish guerrillas. Massive troop concentrations have been taking place for days. Troops are being increased and tanks are being deployed in and around Amadiya in particular.

Taking advantage of the silence of Baghdad and Erbil, Turkish forces set up checkpoints and started performing identity checks in Duhok, while forcibly evacuating many villages.

The occupying Turkish army continues to systematically burn villages in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq). After the devastating fires in the villages of Dergelê, Miska and Bazê in Berwarî Bala region, Turkish forces bombed Mijê, Kevne Mijê and Spîndarê villages in Amadiya region and started burning the land in this region starting from 5 July.

The fire was partially taken under control on Saturday thanks to the intensive efforts of the local people, but another fire broke out in the area as a result of the bombardments on Sunday.

While the local people were prevented from intervening, the fire spread to the houses in the village centres and many houses were burnt. The fire, which has not been extinguished so far, continues to grow. The people of the region are making intense efforts, but KDP forces do not allow more than 5-6 people to go to the region. On the other hand, vehicles such as fire brigades or construction equipment that can intervene in the fire are not allowed to pass. While the fire in the region is moving at full speed to the village centres and gradually to the city centre, the KDP authorities are only watching and when the people try to intervene in the fire by their own means, they face obstructions. When a fire is under control in a region, the Turkish state immediately bombards that region and starts a fire again. These bombardments are carried out from the Amediyê hill, where the KDP and the Turkish army forces are positioned together.

In a statement on Sunday, the People’s Defence Forces (HPG) said that the colonialist genocidal Turkish state and its occupying army are systematically and deliberately targeting villages and settlements in Southern Kurdistan.

“The Turkish state, which has burnt down thousands of villages in Northern Kurdistan in recent history, is now trying to completely the villages in Southern Kurdistan in this way, in order to expel the people and completely occupy the region,” said the HPG statement. Accordingly,