ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The residents of approximately 160 villages in Duhok province’s Amedi district, who have abandoned their home due to decades-long conflict between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have yet to return despite a halt of hostilities between both warring sides, a local official said on Tuesday.
"Out of a total of 356 villages in Amedi district, approximately 160 villages are still abandoned due to security conditions,” Warshin Salman told Rudaw. "For those villages where people have returned, we have tried to directly provide them with electricity and roads, with more than 8 billion dinars ($6.1 million) allocated just for village roads."
After decades of conflict, peace is returning to remote villages in Duhok province that were once on the frontline of the war between the Turkish state and the PKK. Villagers are able to harvest their crops without fear.
The PKK declared a ceasefire and announced its dissolution this spring and the Turkish parliament is now formulating a legal path to peace. The cessation of hostilities means villagers have been able to return home.
Kashan was on the frontlines of the PKK-Turkey conflict for three decades and access to the village was often restricted, but a peace process launched a year ago has provided welcome relief.
Villagers celebrated the calm on Friday with a festival.
