A Turkish military raid in Kurdish regions has left 7 civilians dead, according to Iraqi officials. The continuous shelling of Kurdish regions has led to tensions between Turkish-Kurdish relations, and has displaced at least 124 villagers after they evacuated because of night raids, fearing for their own safety. Kurdish parliament issued a statement afterwards: "We demand the Turkish government to make a formal apology to the people and the Kurdistan government."
The mayor of Qalat Dizah, Hassan Abdulla told Reuters: "Today there was a rocket from a Turkish plane that hit a civilian vehicle, a pickup, carrying seven civilians. The seven were killed."
More than 2000 people demonstrated in the northern town of Rania where the victims were buried. This lead to protests by Kurds in diaspora condemning Turkish assault on Kurdish regions. In USA, Nashville Kurds protested holding banners like "President Obama, don't leave us at the mercy of Turkey."
In Hawler, Kurdish students called for a demonstration of solidarity; they held banners saying, "Turkey feeds a child in Somalia, massacres a family in Kurdistan"
Protests were held in most European states in solidarity with Kurds, calling for an immediate halt of Turkish warplanes attacking Kurdish villages and mountains. In Germany, UK, Finland, Holland and many other European countries, demonstrations were staged to condemn the Turkish governments disproportional response to Kurds.
More protests are planned in UK, Sweden, Norway, USA, France and many other countries. There is a general sense of outrage. In London numerous boroughs have protested against and have vowed to continue protesting until Turkey apologises for their inhumane approach towards Kurds.
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"The (Turkish) ambassador reportedly presented photographic and satellite evidence to the Iraqi officials proving that Turkish fighter jets could not have been behind the incident.
“The Turkish military used highly explosive bombs for their operations and so the damage on the ground would have been be greater,” the Daily Hurriyet quoted the Turkish diplomat as saying, “…There are no craters in the road.”
"On August 21, seven Kurdish civilians – including three small children – were killed when a rocket struck their car at the base of the mountain range. The vehicle and its occupants were so badly burned in the explosion that it was impossible to identify them straight away."
And;
"The Iraqi Foreign Ministry is said to have been unconvinced by Turkey’s evidence and upheld its prior call for an immediate ceasefire."
My comment meant to seek a balance in your article, e.g. to reflect the opinion of Turkey, who disputes the claims by local authorities in northern Iraq.
Once again, I would like to extend my condolences to the families of deceased.
"Lead" should be "led."
You're in Nashville, be happy. If the Turkish army invades Tennessee I'm sure Mr. Obama will step in and protect you. One thing that is not going to happen is the U.S. getting embroiled in some separatist movement in northern Iraq by a group of people that support the terrorist group PKK and have no legitimate claim to any country.
Leave the Turks in peace, they will leave you in peace. You start a fight and then cry for help. Deal with it.
The Taliban doesn't represent the majority of Afghans, yet how many of them have been killed as a result of the Taliban's presence?
The media would have us condemn Turkey for defending itself. The kurds commit atrocities in Turkey hoping the Turks will retaliate, all in effort to keep their cause alive in the media. Much like the Taliban, the kurds use terror for attention.
Real simple solution to those Turks bombing you all, stop crossing the Turkish border and bombing them. Problem solved.
via the Caspian Sea and with talk of extending it under the sea to additional oil fields...another pipeline
runs from Kuwait into Turkey. This permits significant oil to flow entirely free of Iranian issues
and the straits of Hormuz and increases Turkish influence in Europe and the Med. Also, the shakey
state of the Arab regimes and a bit of radicalism at home has the turks a little on edge to secure
their borders and secular government. The Turkish interest in denying the kurds a nation-state
or increasing influence continues as well, particularly as the Turks assert themselves in the Muslim world a bit. (we must remember in the early 20th century most of the Muslim world was
under Turkish control)