Community Peace Teams (CPT) in Iraq has shared footage of Turkish soldiers walking through the Kesta village on the southern Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) border, stating that up to 300 Turkish tanks crossed the border into the KRI over the last few days. The CPT also stated that Turkish troops have been seen walking in the nearby villages of Aradna, Chalke, Babire, Ura and Sararo in the Kanî Masî district of Amedi.
Earlier videos published on the telegram channel Senger show the movement of Turkish troops, including armoured vehicles and heavy weapons, in different districts in the Amedi region. According to local reports, villagers are deserting their villages over of fear of imminent military clashes.
The RojNews agency reported that over the course of the last weeks close to 15,000 Turkish soldiers have been deployed to the KRI and that these troops have started to build up military bases with the financial and military support of the local Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). RojNews adds that KDP’s support for the Turkish military should also be seen as attempt by the party to postpone the upcoming elections in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The elections should have taken place on 1 October 2022, but have since been postponed five times and have now been announced for 20 October 2024, more than two years after the original date. The KDP is afraid of losing political power, if the elections were to be held.
In response to the increased deployment of Turkish military in the Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) issued a statement calling on the people of the KRI and Iraq to “protest against the Turkish occupation”.
