Duhok, Kurdistan Region - A fire erupted on Mount Matina in Duhok province following clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to a local villager's report on Wednesday. The blaze, which began on Tuesday, remains uncontrolled, devastating the forests and farmlands of nearby villages.

Nizar Sargale, a village chieftain (mukhtar), informed Rudaw’s Nasir Ali, "The fire broke out yesterday and has not been brought under control. Hundreds of trees in the forests and farmlands of citizens in the villages have been burned." The challenging mountainous terrain complicates efforts to extinguish the fire, with local residents scrambling to fight the blaze as civil defense teams struggle to access the area.

Turkey has recently intensified its military operations to counter PKK threats along its border with the Kurdistan Region. Airstrikes and artillery fire, particularly during the hot, dry summer months, frequently ignite fires.

The PKK, a Kurdish militant group, has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades, seeking greater Kurdish rights. Ankara designates the PKK as a terrorist organization.

In April 2022, Turkey launched Operation Claw-Lock in northern Duhok province, targeting PKK positions in Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas. The objective of the operation, according to Ankara, is to remove the PKK from border areas and cut off its access to mainland Turkey.

So far in 2024, Turkey has conducted over 800 attacks on the Kurdistan Region and Nineveh province, according to data from Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a human rights organization monitoring Ankara’s operations in the region.

Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Many families have been forced to flee their homes in the Kurdistan Region's villages, particularly in northern Duhok province near the Turkish border, leaving entire villages deserted. A 2020 Kurdistan Region parliamentary report stated that the Turkey-PKK conflict has rendered over 500 villages empty across the Region.