Turkish military target village resort in Iraqi Kurdistan Region
The Turkish armed forces have continued their airstrikes for the past ten days within Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Earlier today, six civilians were wounded and one person killed in a tourist resort within Sulaimani governorate.
These airstrikes come at a time where governments around the world are struggling to cope with the economic and societal toll of the coronavirus outbreak. The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has already announced bankruptcy in light of plummeting oil prices, and is currently engaged with ongoing talks with Iraq’s central government.
Sulaimani city has the highest rate of infected individuals with covid-19 and the highest death toll throughout the region. The healthcare system is on the verge of collapsing as doctors complain of PPE shortages, lack of salaries, and medicine available.
The Kurdish Centre for Progress calls upon all sides to engage in constructive dialogue and urges the Turkish government to exercise restraint at a time the Iraqi Kurdistan Region faces multiple changes — coronavirus, bankruptcy, collapsing economy.
We call upon the international community and lawmakers within the United Kingdom to take substantial steps in condemning Turkey’s aggressive behavior in the region as civilians continue to suffer the consequences of cross-borders shelling.