Turkey continues bombing Dupre
Asmar Husen and Shekh Omer explaining the situation to the team. Photo by:Julie Brown.
By Julie Brown
Turkish Bombs Burn fields and Terrorize the Village of Dupre : On September 6th CPT visited the village of Dupre and learned that Turkey had once again bombed the area. Villagers report that at noon on September 3rd four Turkish military planes flew over the village dropping eight bombs onto the fields surrounding their homes. The bombs set the fields ablaze as villagers ran into their homes to take cover from the attack. “We ran inside and hid wherever we could.” said Shekh Omer, a resident of Dupre “Even the houses are not safe but we have no other place to hide.”
In May Turkey bombed the same village. One blast on a nearby mountain sent huge rocks and bomb fragments raining down onto the homes below. The impact left houses with holes in the roofs and shattered windows. Shrapnel from the bombings were found as far away as Kashkawa, the neighboring Christian village.
The villagers of Dupre and Kashkawa have been living and working side by side for generations. CPT reported on the May bombing and the relationship between these villages last month. Read the full article here. http://cptikurdistan.blogspot.com/2016/08/they-gave-us-keys-to-their-homes.html
Villagers in Kashkawa told CPT that Dupre has been the most directly affected and when the bombings start they are very worried about their neighbors. “Last time there was a bombing we went to Dupre and invited them to our village. There is no difference between Christian and Muslim” said Kak Yousif from Kashkawa.
Residents from both Dupre and Kashkawa talked about the fear they face going to their fields after the bombings. “When our fields are on fire we can do nothing about it. If we try to put the fires out maybe they will come back and bomb us also.” said Kak Yousif. “We never know when the bombings will start. Last time it was during lunch. The time before, it was in the middle of the night. We never know when it will happen so it makes our life very scary.”
“If there were no bombings we would have a very wealthy life. We have no need for salaries here. We can get everything we need with our own hands” explained Khan Afdal of Dupre.