Military operations and airstrikes by the Turkish army in the Kurdish autonomous region of Iraq continue, despite preparations by the first group of Kurdish Workers' Party militants for a disarmament ceremony scheduled for Friday. This is stated in a new report by the US organization Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), which monitors the activities of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, Rudaw reports.

“Turkish military strikes and operations remain intense, although increasingly concentrated in specific areas — even as the disarmament ceremony approaches,” the CPT report said.

According to monitoring data, the number of attacks has remained consistently high since their sharp increase in May.

At the same time, the CPT emphasizes that there are no reports of civilian casualties.

The ceremony for the surrender of weapons by PKK militants will take place in the province of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdish region of Iraq in the presence of officials, politicians, and representatives of civil society. The exact location is being kept secret, and no live broadcast is planned.

In February, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for an end to armed struggle and a transition to a political solution. The PKK announced a ceasefire on March 1 and, in May, announced its self-dissolution and the end of armed resistance.

Despite this, according to the CPT, Turkish army activity has increased by 8% over the past month compared to May and still exceeds pre-ceasefire levels. In June alone, the CPT recorded at least 550 shellings and airstrikes on the Kurdish region, 98% of which were in the province of Dohuk, particularly in the Amed district. According to the data, 525 attacks were artillery shellings and another 25 were airstrikes. In the Sidakan district (Erbil province), only nine cases of artillery shelling were recorded.

The CPT noted particular damage in the Deraluk district (Amed), where hundreds of dunams (dozens of hectares) of agricultural land and vineyards were destroyed.

In addition, the report describes in detail the situation with the forced displacement of civilians. According to the CPT, as a result of the Turkish military campaign, 183 villages have been completely abandoned: 107 in Dohuk, 65 in Erbil, eight in Sulaymaniyah, and three in Nineveh.

Another 602 villages are at risk of being completely deserted, with most of their inhabitants having already left due to constant shelling, leaving only a few families behind. Of these, 225 are in Dohuk, 188 in Erbil, 182 in Sulaymaniyah, and seven in Nineveh.

The CPT also noted that 405 villages emptied during the Anfal campaign, the conflict with the Baath regime, or the war with ISIS have not been repopulated due to ongoing Turkish military operations.