Unidentified warplanes target Sulaimani village: Monitor
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An unidentified airstrike targeted a mountain village in eastern Sulaimani province, a conflict monitor reported on Thursday.
'At 11:40 pm on Wednesday, Turkish warplanes heavily bombarded the Zhazholan valley in the village of Gulala,' Kamaran Osman from the Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization that monitors Turkey's operations in the Kurdistan Region.
The Turkish army has bombarded Galala village several times under the pretext of targeting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters allegedly present in the area.
'Due to the proximity of the bombardment, all the villagers felt it and their houses shook,' Osman added.
The strike came amid intensified efforts for a peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK.
On Saturday, the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire with Turkey, stating it agrees with the contents of leader Abdullah Ocalan's recent letter that called on the group to disarm and disband, but set a physical meeting with their jailed leader as a precondition to any successful peace process.
Ocalan's letter has sparked hope for a resolution to the nearly four-decade-long conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which has claimed over 40,000 lives.
According to CPT data, 183 villages have been abandoned and an additional 602 are in danger of being evacuated because of fighting between Turkey and the PKK.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially called for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan but now calls for autonomy. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey. It has bases in the Kurdistan Region's mountains.
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