Farmers and shepherds in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sidekan (Sîdekan) region have been told by the governonate to evacuate certain areas due to security risks, Roj News reported on Sunday.
Civilians in Sidekan, also known as Bradost, were alerted to a growing military presence and heightened security concerns by district governor İhsan Çelebi. The Head of the Soran Autonomous Administration, Helgurd Şêx Necip, confirmed the evacuations in a press statement. He also emphasised that ongoing regional conflict disrupts the local population and hinders agricultural-based livelihoods.
Conflict has escalated between peshmerga forces affiliated with the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) fighters. On 13 September the KDP reportedly deployed approximately 200 armoured vehicles to Sidekan.
Fears heightened as military activity in the region intensified following Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit on 24 August. Turkey recently escalated attacks on positions held by Kurdish guerrillas, primarily in the Zap region. Meanwhile, KDP has faced accusations of providing tangible support to Turkey’s cross-border operations against the PKK in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.
According to a statement made on Sunday by the People’s Defence Forces (HPG), an armed wing of the PKK, 13 Turkish soldiers were killed within a single day during guerrilla action in the Zap region. The Turkish Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday that over the last few days it has targeted more than 30 alleged PKK positions within the Kurdistan Region, resulting in several casualties.
Turkey’s most recent military operation against Kurdish guerrilla forces in the Zap, Metina (Metîna) and Avashin (Avaşîn) areas of northern Iraq have been ongoing since April 2022.
