Azad did not fulfil his dream; story of a youth killed by Turkish aircraft in Iraqi Kurdish town of Shiladzi

14-07-2020 04:00
Azad and three of his friends were killed when a Turkish aircraft targeted their vehicle, on June 19, 2020.

By Peregraf

The day when the Turkish bombs hit Azad’s vehicle was Friday, the first day of the weekend when people rest; however, it remained a workday for Azad and his fellow workers.

In the end of that Friday, Azad receives his daily wage of 15 thousand Iraqi dinars (IQD) (12.5 dollars) and started heading to Gali Balnda resort to relief the exhaustion of the day before returning home.

Azad was tirelessly working even during the weekend because he was quite close to his dream.

"Upon Azad’s decision, we visited the family of a relative to marry their daughter to him. The engagement was supposed to happen two days after the bombardment, but it didn’t happen. Turkey didn’t let him reach his dream," said Mahdi Shaji.

Mahdi, who is the father of Azad, is weeping for the loss of his son. He explained the day on which he lost his son and said that, "he and his fellow workers went to work. They moved concert block up to the roof a house. After finishing the work and receiving the daily wage of 15 thousand IQD, they wanted to return home."

After the work, however, they decided to visit Gali Balnda resort to spend some leisure time as other people also visit there in the weekend.

It was Friday, June 19, 2020, when a Turkish aircraft targeted Azad’s vehicle, in which four civilians were killed, Azad and his three friends.

The bombardment lied within the framework of a Turkish operation, which has started since mid-June. The operation began with airstrikes and later included ground attacks by the Turkish forces in the Bahdinan areas, Duhok province. Clashes are still erupting between the Turkish forces and the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

When Azad was killed, his father Mahdi was in the Bazaar and someone informed him about the incident through a phone call, "I said that he went to work, then why would you ask about him?" he responded that Turkey has bombed a vehicle in Gali Balnda and a number of people have been martyred."

Mahdi immediately headed to Shiladzi hospital, where he was told that his son wasn’t among the martyrs. "Azad’s mother and sisters quickly went to visit the place of the bombardment. I remained in the hospital, waiting for ambulances to come to the hospital from the place the of the incident."

The hospital was crowded, people were coming in groups, seeking to know if their sons were killed. Mahdi’s phone rang, "are you the father of Azad? I said yes. They said that the corpse of my son is at the Amedi hospital, if they are not mistaken."

Mahdi demonstrated that before he received the phone call, he lost the ability to move as if he had perceived that he was going to hear the death of his son.

The distance between Amedi and Shiladzi is nearly an hour long ride. Mahidi arrives at the Amidi hospital, where he sees his son’s corpse.

"His arms and legs vanished due to the airstrike. His head and face were damaged, but I still recognized him because he was part of my body."

Azad was the second oldest son in his family. He left three brothers and three sisters, and his father is a Peshmerga.

"Due to financial difficulties, Azad became a shepherd since he was 12 years old. He also used to go to the mountains to collect wood and sometimes worked as a laborer."

"My poor and unblessed son didn’t see happiness until he died," his father said.

Turkish bombardments have killed tens of civilian in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, while Turkey still denies that it has targeted civilians in its operations.

Historian Paiber Artisi, who has been documenting the number of victims of the Turkish and PKK conflicts in Shiladzi since 1996, has told Peregraf, "49 people have been martyred by the Turkish air and ground attacks since 1996 and 20 persons have been injured, despite that 18 women have miscarried due to the sound of the bombings."

Artisi data reveals that eight people have gone missing since then and there were people who died of the sound, fear and distress of the bombings.

Besides "condemning the attacks, martyring people and damaging civilians’ property", Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has equally called upon Turkey and PKK not to bring their conflicts to the region’s territory.

Artisi claims that most of the civilians were martyred in the last three years during which 27 individuals were killed. "The Turkish bombardment in Shiladzi has caused a catastrophe. Body of some of those who were killed were found in pieces due to the bombardments and some were completely burned."

Turkish bombardments have also killed and wounded tens of civilians in Makhmour, Sulaimani, Qandil and Zini Warte.

Recent data suggests that the conflict between Turkey and the PKK is entering a new and important phase in light of a marked reduction in the number of clashes in southeast Turkey. Even before Turkey’s latest cross-border operation against the group in Iraqi Kurdistan began in mid-June, the overwhelming majority of clashes between the two adversaries took place in Iraq.

report by research analyst Adam Miller for the Armed Conflict Location & Data Project (ACLED) discovered that a mere 23 percent of engagements between the Turkish military and the PKK took place in southeast Turkey while 77 percent took place in Iraq in the first five months of 2020. Qandil mountain in Iraqi Kurdistan has long been a sanctuary for the PKK in its decades-old conflict with Turkey.

On the pretext of fighting the PKK, Turkey has violated Iraqi sovereignty and has established several military bases in the Kurdistan Region since 1995.

The ongoing clashes between the PKK and Turkey are in Haftanin area.

Murad Qaralyan, head of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) and a senior leader of the PKK, have informed PKK’s affiliated media that Turkey plan is to invade the Iraqi Kurdistan and if Turkey invades any area, it will pay a heavy price for it.

Despite the Iraqi government’s warnings and summoning the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad twice, Ankara insists on attacking the PKK on the Iraqi Kurdistan soil and claims that it will establish additional military bases.