As Turkey expands its operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the region, its troops in northern Iraq are facing, for the first time, violent protests by local Kurds, who are infuriated over civilian casualties in the air raids.
Bombings in the Deraluk region on Jan. 23-25 claimed six lives, bringing the civilian death toll from Turkish airstrikes to more than 20 in the past two years. On Jan. 26, angry relatives stormed a Turkish military base in Dahuk province, setting fire to two tanks, tents and equipment. The crowd called on Turkey to end the strikes and respect Kurdistan’s sovereignty, while also urging the PKK to leave the region. Things got out of hand as soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing two protesters, aged 13 and 60, and wounding 15 others.
