Turkish Army Bombs Zergele Village in Northern Iraq

Fighter jets of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) bombed Zergele Village in Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq on August 1, 2015. 10 civilians, a pregnant woman amongst them, died while 15 people got wounded. It was stated that 22 houses were destroyed during the bombardment.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Vice President Sezgin Tanrıkulul reacted to the incident:

"This massacre carried out by fighter jets is a crime against humanity and cannot be passed off with an apology. The ones who gave the orders will be on trial for war crimes and cannot get away with it as we can see from other examples of the history.”

Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) called for Turkey’s people to react to killing of civilians.

President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, reacted to the bombardment:

 “We condemn the bombardment who left citizens of Iraqi Kurdistan Region fell as martyrs. We request from Turkey not to bomb civil settlements again. There is no excuse of it.”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: We are sorry and making an investigation

Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement on its website about the Zergele bombardment:

“We are sorry to hear that civilians died during the air operation against PKK and we are making an investigation about it.  

Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that “senior” members of PKK were living in Zergele not the civilians and added they would cooperate with Iraqi Kurdistan Region about the investigation.

Turkish Armed Forces made a statement about the bombing

General Staff of the Republic of Turkey:

 1. It was claimed by some media organs that civilians died and got wounded during an air operation against the northern Iraq.

2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement related to the subject.

3. Targets in northern Iraq belonging to the separatist terrorist organization were determined in detail and painstakingly and confirmed by imaged data with the help of expert military personnel.

4. Claims were reconsidered and it was identified that Zergele is not a village but a shelter for the separatist terrorist organization and there are no civil settlements nearby.” (AS/EA/BD)

 Photo Credit: Bestanuçe

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