SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Iraq mountain rest spot bears scars of deadly shelling
Parakh, Iraq, July 22 (AFP) Jul 22, 2022
Abandoned sandals and upturned chairs attest to the panic that gripped this peaceful rest spot in Iraq's Kurdish mountains when deadly shelling slammed into it this week.

Turkey denies that its forces were responsible for the artillery fire that killed nine people and wounded 23 on Wednesday.

But both the government in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional authorities, who organised a press tour of the lunch spot in the border village of Parakh, have said Turkish forces were to blame.

Civilians have been repeatedly caught up in the crossfire of Turkey's nearly four-decade-old war against the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has repeatedly extended across the border into northern Iraq.

It is easy to understand why this mountain village less than five kilometres (three miles) from the Turkish border is so popular with holidaymakers and day-trippers from the scorching plains of Iraq.

A mountain stream runs through the village watering a tree-lined valley that provides welcome shade from the heat.

Now the stream is filled with upturned tables and chairs from the riverside restaurants where the artillery bombardment sowed panic.

"We didn't know what to do," said shopkeeper Ali Osman. "Things were so bad that families were fleeing leaving their children behind."

Osman said that business had been good but he didn't know how much longer it could last.

"Arab tourists (from the plains of Iraq) come here a lot," said the 52-year-old, sporting traditional Kurdish dress.

"Daily we receive about 100 coachloads of day trippers and then there are those who come with their own vehicles.

"In our village there are around 35 houses. I don't think we can live here any longer. We are going to have to leave the village."

A public outcry over Wednesday's deadly bombardment sparked anti-Turkish demonstrations in cities across central and southern Iraq.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Voyager raises over 400 million in public debut to fuel growth and innovation
Kinetica 2 engine test hits milestone with successful multi-engine trial
Conservation leaders join passenger lineup for Blue Origin NS-33 suborbital launch

24/7 Energy News Coverage
AI-enabled control system helps autonomous drones stay on target in uncertain environments
Decarbonizing steel is as tough as steel
Molecular relay structure enables faster photon upconversion for solar and medical use

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
World faces new arms race as nuclear powers spend 100B a year
Australia says China anxiety, geography driving closer Indonesia ties
Iran's nuclear programme, Netanyahu's age-old obsession

24/7 News Coverage
Ancient climate shifts reveal warning signs for modern drought risks
Space lasers, AI used by geospatial scientist to measure forest biomass
Tiny organisms, huge implications for people



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.