Evacuation of Christian village in Iraqi Kurdistan following Turkish army attack
Seven Christian villages in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region were evacuated following recent attacks by the Turkish army.
Mikhail Merkhabi, the village headman of Miska village in Barvar Aliya, said that in addition to their village, six other Christian villages have also been evacuated. According to him, the villages of Malkhta, Kari, Sardashti, Halva, Dareh Destineh and Baluk were evacuated due to recent military clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK.
According to research, each of the villages mentioned had 10 to 15 households, which have now moved to other areas. Mikhail Merkhabi said about the dangers of this war: "This war threatens our lives, and some of these villages have also been burned down. The fire has covered most of the mountainous areas of the Upper Barvar region, and 85 percent of these villages have been burned down, so much so that we cannot even survive for an hour in these villages."
According to Rudaw reports, in Upper Barwar alone, there are 32 villages with a Christian majority, some of which are also Muslim and live side by side. In the village of Miska, only 11 Christian families remained, along with one Muslim family, and they also left their homes as the bombing intensified.
According to statistics published by the organization (CPT), following the Turkish army's military operations over the past week, other villages have also been completely evacuated, and in total, 602 villages and 20 hectares of agricultural land have been burned in Dohuk province alone, and the border areas of this province have been bombed 238 times.
