Shepherds 'not allowed to pasture animals' due to military operation into KRG

Because of a new cross-border military operation into Iraq's Kurdistan Region, shepherds are being prevented from pasturing their animals around Mount Cudi, a mountain in Şırnak province near Turkey's border with Iraq, Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported.

Shepherds, including those who came from nearby provinces, are not allowed to take their animals to the pastures in the foothills of Mount Cudi because the area was declared a "special security zone" by the governor's office.

The situation is the same in the pastures on Mount Herekol between Şırnak and Siirt and plateaus in Başkale, Van.

Soldiers have seized ID cards of the shepherds and some of them were fined 190 lira (~13 US dollars) per sheep, according to shepherds quoted by MA.

"Thousands of animals"

Şakir Derveş (52), a shepherd who set off from Nusaybin, Mardin, three days ago for Başkale, told the agency that they could not stop to rest because "the soldiers are everywhere."

"We have to take the animals to the plateau in separate herds. But we are kept waiting here. As we are kept waiting, animals are piling up here. There is neither water nor a place to graze.

"They say it is forbidden and we should wait until May 1. Where will these animals graze until May 1? There are currently 20 herds. In two to three days, the number of these herds will be 100. That means tens of thousands of animals."

Dure Aksu (70), another shepherd, said they had not been able to enter plateaus freely for five years. "Sometimes they say 'Men cannot come', sometimes they say 'Do not bring the children', sometimes they say 'None of you can come'. Despite our permission papers, we are not allowed to pass. There is a different reason every year."

"Last year, they sent us back three times. Many of our animals died. There are arbitrary practices. They do this because they don't like us," he added.

In the early hours of April 18, Turkey's Ministry of Defense announced the start of the "Operation Claw-Lock" targeting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq's Kurdistan Region.

Latest in a series of operations into the region dubbed as the "Claw Operations" since May 2019, the offensive focuses on Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan areas, according to the ministry. (VK)