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Turkish Army Penetrates Deeper in Iraqi Kurdistan

A Kurdish Peshmerga on guard in Northern Iraq. Reuters
A Kurdish Peshmerga on guard in Northern Iraq. Reuters
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Turkish Army Penetrates Deeper in Iraqi Kurdistan

A Kurdish Peshmerga on guard in Northern Iraq. Reuters
A Kurdish Peshmerga on guard in Northern Iraq. Reuters

The Turkish army continues to build a military base in the Balkaya Mountain near the Turkish border with Iraq amid reports of a deeper incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan and the establishment of three permanent bases there.

The installation of the base in Balkaya Mountain is being established in the framework of operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). It’s located at the altitude of 2,400 meters in the Semdinli district, according to Turkish security sources.

For its part, Kurdish media network, Rudaw, reported an increase in Turkish operations in Sidakan, an area in northern Iraq close to the foothills of the Qandil mountains, a territory of central importance to the PKK.
The Turkish military has established three new bases in the Kani Rash and Hakurk areas in Iraqi Kurdistan, it said.

Work is already underway on roads to connect the new bases, with 13 kilometers constructed so far, according to Rudaw.

"Although the Turkish army did not enter the village, a number of soldiers asked one of the children there to bring some food for them, and they stressed that they would not harm the people," the network quoted local residents in Ashma village as saying.

Turkish sources refused to comment on these reports, stressing to Asharq Al-Awsat that Turkey would not hesitate to do any work that preserves the security of its borders and people.

They pointed out that the Turkish army is taking measures in the south-eastern areas bordering Iraq to prevent any terrorist operations or infiltration of elements of PKK elements from Qandil mountains into the country.

In this context, the leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party confirmed that the Turkish message to the Iraqi government on Sinjar and Qandil mountains is very clear and that the Turkish army will do what is necessary in case the Iraqi army did not do what it should in these areas.

Last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that his government won’t accept Turkey to be threatened from the Iraqi territories.

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish intelligence service has received information on the beginning of an Iraqi military operation in Sinjar targeting the PKK, hoping to achieve success, and he stressed that Turkey will do what is necessary in case this operation fails.

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Arab World

Lebanon Says Israeli Fire Kills One as Residents Try to Go Home

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP
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Lebanon Says Israeli Fire Kills One as Residents Try to Go Home

A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicle drives through a Lebanese army checkpoint in Burj al-Mulik - AFP

Lebanon's heath ministry said Israeli fire killed one person Monday and wounded seven others in the south, in a second day of violence as residents tried again to return to border villages.

The bloodshed, which one analyst said was unlikely to re-spark war, came hours after the extension of a deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from south Lebanon under a November ceasefire deal.

The ministry said Israeli fire killed 24 returnees on Sunday.
"Israeli enemy attacks as citizens attempt to return to their towns that are still occupied have led... to one dead and seven wounded," the health ministry said Monday in a statement.
It reported one dead and two wounded in the border town of Adaysseh, with others wounded in Bani Hayyan, including a child, as well as in Yarun and Hula.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said earlier Monday that Lebanon had agreed to an extension of the ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel until February 18, after the Israeli military missed Sunday's deadline to withdraw.

In south Lebanon, residents accompanied by the army were again trying to return to their villages, official media and AFP correspondents reported.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem is scheduled to deliver a televised address at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT).

- 'Bullets don't scare us' -

In the village of Burj al-Muluk, an AFP photographer saw dozens of men, women and children gathering in the morning behind a dirt barrier, some holding yellow Hezbollah flags, hoping to reach the border town of Kfar Kila, where the Israeli military is still deployed.

In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, Hezbollah supporters were distributing sweets, water and images of former chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September.

"They think they are scaring us with their bullets, but we lived under the bombing and bullets don't scare us," said Mona Bazzi in Bint Jbeil.

The official National News Agency (NNA) said that Lebanese "army reinforcements" had arrived near the border town of Mais al-Jabal, where people had started to gather at "the entrance of the town" in preparation for entering alongside the military.

It said the Israeli army had "opened fire in the direction of the Lebanese army" near the town, without reporting casualties there.

"We waited in a long line for hours, but couldn't enter," said Mohammed Choukeir, 33, from Mais al-Jabal, adding that Israeli troops "were opening fire from time to time on civilians gathered at the entrance of the town".

In nearby Hula, where the health ministry reported two wounded, the NNA said residents entered "after the deployment of the army in several neighbourhoods".

Under the ceasefire deal that took effect on November 27, the Lebanese military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period, which ended on Sunday.

Hezbollah was also to pull back its forces north of the Litani River -- about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

- Bulldozers -

Both sides have traded blame for delays in implementing the deal, which came after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of all-out war.

Lebanon's army said Sunday that it had entered several border areas including Dhayra, Maroun al-Ras and Aita al-Shaab.

An AFP photographer in Aita al-Shaab on Monday saw widespread destruction, with newly returned families among the ruins of their homes, as bulldozers worked to open roads and rescue teams searched for any bodies leftover from the conflict.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee on Monday called again for south Lebanon residents to "wait" before returning.

Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said he did not expect a return to major violence.

"Hezbollah no longer wants any further confrontation with Israel, its goal is to protect its achievements in Lebanon," he told AFP.

The health ministry said Monday that Israeli fire killed 24 people who were trying to return to their villages the previous day, updating an earlier toll of 22 dead.

The Israeli military had said soldiers "fired warning shots to remove threats" where "suspects were identified approaching the troops".

The Lebanese army said Sunday it would "continue to accompany residents" returning to the south and "protect them from Israeli attacks".