Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been shelling Iraqi territory along its border with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) continuously for more than 13 days, Roj news reported on Wednesday.
Iranian forces have bombarded five villages in the Bradost region near the regional capital Erbil (Hewler) forcing some 500 families to flee from their homes in Barbzein, Parez, Katine, Saqer, and Horani.
Mortars have started fires in nearby orchards and pastures, while the risk of a shell hitting residential areas remains. Locals also fear Turkish shelling as well, as Turkey has also been shelling the area.
Mayor Ihsan Chalabi told KRG based Rudaw news agency that a sixth village had to be evacuated, and that two schools were closed due to the ongoing Iranian and Turkish shelling.
The intensified IRGC bombing started in late September, targeting the bases of exiled Kurdish opposition groups in KRG’s Erbil and Sulaymaniyah provinces on the grounds that they were fuelling anti-government protests that spread over the whole of Iran following the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Jîna Mahsa Amini who died in police custody.
Iran had been amassing troops at its border with the KRG, threatening a cross-border invasion if the opposition groups did not evacuate the area, according to a report by the Voice of America.
KRG Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed Khalid met with leaders of the groups in question afterwards, asking them to withdraw from the mountainous border region to avoid an Iranian incursion.
In a series of intensive strikes in late September, at least nine people were killed and 32 others injured in the attacks, according to the region’s Health Ministry. Iran fired more than 70 ballistic missiles, targeting opposition groups’ positions.
The shelling and strikes have garnered international condemnation, highlighting the locals’ protests against the loss of life and property.
On 29 September, Iraq’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to the country, Muhammad Kazem Al Sadiq, and gave him a strong diplomatic warning over the continuing operations.
Iran has not officially responded to Iraq’s warnings, instead intensifying its bombing campaign, forcing more civilians to leave.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the UN Security Council that Turkish and Iranian attacks against the KRG had become normalised, adding, “No neighbour should treat Iraq as its backyard.”
