Editor TLN
July 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The European Union has condemned the attack on Wednesday in the surroundings of the town of Zajo, in the semi-autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, in which at least nine people have lost their lives and more than twenty have been injured.
“Attacking and killing civilians is contrary to international law. An investigation must establish who is responsible for this attack so that he can be held accountable,” the European Union’s diplomatic service said in a statement.
Likewise, the Twenty-seven have taken advantage of the occasion to emphasize their “solidarity with the Iraqi people” and to underline that they will continue with their “unwavering support” for sovereignty and stability in Iraq.
According to local authorities, the bombing was presumably carried out by Turkish planes, which were targeting various tourist sites in the city of Zajo. The attack would have reached a group of about 200 tourists arriving from the capital, Baghdad, among whom there would also be children, as reported by the Kurdish television channel Rudaw.
The mayor of Zajo, Muhsin Bashir, has accused Turkey of carrying out several attacks on the village of Paraj and has claimed that suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were in the vicinity, which could have triggered the bombing.
Likewise, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mostafá al Kazemi, denounced on Thursday that Turkey’s “brutal attack” represents “an explicit and flagrant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty”, before stressing that Baghdad “reserves the right to respond”, as detailed on his Twitter account.
For its part, Turkey has rejected the Iraqi accusations, assuring that it is against all kinds of acts directed at the civilian population, and has assured that it is fighting terrorism “in accordance with international law.”
The UN mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has already “strongly condemned the deadly artillery bombardment” and has expressed its “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims.
Turkey announced in mid-April the start of a new offensive against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan, in northern Iraq, which was described by Baghdad as a “national security threat”, given that the operations were not being coordinated. .
The Turkish Army has also repeatedly carried out military operations against the PKK and its allies in northern Syria since the ceasefire between the Government and the armed group was broken in July 2015.
