Cautious tranquility, tourists continue their tours along Iraqi-Turkish borders

Duhuk, Oct 18, (VOI) – Relative tranquility prevails at Iraq's cross border regions with tourists flocking to the northern province of Duhuk, despite the mobilization of Turkish troops and a recent parliamentary vote endorsing military operations in Iraqi territories to hunt down separatists of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Col. Hussein Tamr, the chief of the border guard forces in Duhuk, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), "No Turkish shelling of cross border regions has been reported since last Sunday."

At a late hour on Saturday, several parts of Duhuk came under artillery fire for two
hours, in an obvious escalation by Turkish forces which threatened to launch a massive incursion into northern Iraq.

Yesterday the Turkish parliament voted and approved on a government memo authorizing the army to pursue Kurdish separatists inside Iraq.
Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani called on Turkey to adopt a peaceful solution to the crisis and to avoid the military approach.

While expressing their concerns about imminent military strike against several parts of Iraq's Kurdistan, several residents said that the region is in a state of "cautious tranquility."

Muhammad Saleh, a 52-year-old farmer in Barkh village in Zakho district, told VOI that local residents are expecting military interference within the coming few days.

Wahid Kisty, 45, a government employee from the cross border village of Kista in al-Imadiya district, said, "Our area was not bombed during the past two days, but we are scared of the thought that Turkish missiles may drop on our heads."

"We urge the world and the Iraqi government to interfere to put an end to these operations. We have no relationship whatsoever with the PKK, which does not attack Turks from our land," Wahid added.

Disregarding the tense political situation in Duhuk, Iraqi tourists are flooding into areas less than two km from the international borders with Turkey.
Sahar Diyaa, a tourist company coordinator guiding a group of tourists in the province, said, "During the past months, our company organized over 20 trips to this area despite sporadic Turkish artillery shelling."

"We reject Turkish threats. A threat to the Kurdistan region is a threat to Iraq," she added.

Munthir al-Dawwaf, a 50-year-old engineer from Baghdad who came to visit the tourist sites in Duhuk, indicated, "We want to live in peace on our land and we pray for Iraq's stability."

Meanwhile, Firyal Victor, a house wife, said, "We Iraqis: Muslims, Christians, Arabs and Kurds, live together and share one destiny. Some people from outside Iraq do not want this coexistence."
Voices of Iraq

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