Tensions continue in the border villages of the town of Uludere where 34 people were killed in a Turkish air force attack that mistakenly targeted them in December 2011. Villagers have been frequently confronting soldiers in the area in light of the increased military presence since March 2014. A deputy of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was reportedly manhandled by soldiers July 7. Villagers say that they are prevented from practicing animal husbandry and border smuggling — their main sources of income — and that moves by the military in the area have crippled the economy they rely on for survival.
The airstrike on Dec. 28, 2011, took place close to the Iraq-Turkey border, and most of the fatalities were from the villages of Ortasu and Gulyazi, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border.
