Turkey Bombs Christian Village in Iraq

Turkish forces have reportedly bombed the village of Sharanish, an Iraqi home to many Christians, Chaldeans and Assyrians.

 

According to The Christian Post, the bombings happened over the weekend. Authorities haven’t released numbers of injuries.

 

"The attack was carried out under the pretext of the fight against the positions of the Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party)," Patriarchate Louis Sako said.

 

Sako also added that the Turkish government must “respect the lives and property of the population.”

 

AINA News said an attack happened on the Upper Sharanish village, where some 25 Assyrian families live. The Muslim village in Lower Sharanish was not targeted, the report said.

 

The bombing was part of a Turkish attempt to invade Iraq and hunt down Kurdish rebels. The Kurdish rebels have been fighting with Turkey for more than 40 years. They want to create an independent Kurdish state.

 

"Those mountains will be cleared of these terrorists. Whatever it takes, they will be cleared," said Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

 

In the 1980s, the same village, Sharanish, was hit by a military campaign and devastated. Since Saddam Hussein’s fall, many Christians returned to the village.

 

Some 40,000 people have died in the fighting since the late 80s.