Another Turkish brutality against Kurds in Zakho
July 24, 2022, 5:10 pm

Another Turkish brutality against Kurds in Zakho

Zara Saleh1

The tourist village of Barakh, Zakho in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is only 5 km far from the Turkish border was one of the main targets for the Turkish bombardment on July 20. As a result, 9 people were killed including children and women while 31 civilians were injured. The place is well-known as a tourist hub and people across Iraq, especially from Baghdad and southern cities, flock to Zakho and villages nearby in the Kurdish region to find a sense of peace in such cool weather compared to other parts of Iraq where the temperature was peaking to 50c in Summer.

Since 2015, the Turkish army is regularly committing crimes against Kurds and carried out multiple airstrikes in the Kurdistan region in Iraq and in the north and northeast Syria as well as a long strategic Turkish campaign against Kurdish "separatists" according to the Turkish propaganda. Besides that, Turkey has created nearly 50 military bases inside the Kurdish territories in the federal region of Kurdistan as a part of old security and the military deal between Turkey and the former regime of Sadam Husain, which is now, considered illegal and not valid more so according to Iraqi government in Baghdad. In other words, Turkey is responsible for killing civilians and committing a massacre against Kurds as they are targeting Kurdish people everywhere, in Zakho, Sinjar, and in Syria's part of Kurdistan. Consequently, the Iraqi government condemned the Turkish attacks and aggression and called for Turkey to withdraw its military bases from Iraqi territories. Simultaneously with the Iraqi government's call for UN intervention, the Kurdistan Regional Government has also condemned the Turkish brutal attack against the people of the Kurdish region, and they asked for serious protection from the international community and to stop the Turkish aggression against civilians.

Zakho's massacre that was committed by Turkish President Erdogan and his military forces is not the only one, in fact, it is a long-running strategy against the Kurds everywhere. Such war crimes are carried out in Syria as in the Turkish region of Kurdistan and it has been always the Kurds that have been the main for Turkey's targets. For instance, going back to recent decades of Turkey's stories of the massacre against Kurds in Turkey as well, the Turkish army committed a similar massacre in 2011. In the Kurdish village of Roboski located in Turkey and close to the Iraqi border, the Turkish army killed 34 civilian Kurds including 17 children that are well-known as the "Roboski massacre". Similar to Zakho massacre, the Turkish government, and officials were ready to consider such "crimes" as a "legal" operation against terrorism. In fact, Turkey as a state continues to commit crimes against humanity and could be identified as a state of terrorism. Besides, Erdogan's relationship with ISIS and with Al-Nusra Front, and tens of militia jihadist groups of the Syrian opposition that are working and committing crimes against Kurds under the Turkish umbrella as a main source of terrorism. That is Erdogan's understanding of the term "sovereignty" of neighboring countries by occupying their territories and brutally killing the civilian people in front of the international community without any actions to stop such crimes against humanity.

BY: Zara Saleh

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”