JINHA

NEWS CENTER - After Turkish fired artillery on Mt. Judi, hundreds of hectares of forest burned for three days.

Mt. Judi, located in Turkey's Şırnak province, is known as the site where Noah's ark landed, according to Christian and Islamic tradition. A fire on the mountain destroyed several villages over the weekend as Turkish forces failed to intervene.

A forest fire began on Mt. Judi when soldiers opened fire with artillery on the mountain, located between the cities of Şırnak and Silopi, on Thursday. The fire raged for several days. Locals attempted to stop the fire with hoses, but the Turkish military in charge of the area made no effort to stop the fire or to send in helicopters. Then, strong winds restarted the fire on Sunday.

Local citizens set up vigils between the Assyrian village of Aksu (Herbol in Assyrian) and the village of Ballıkaya (Bilika). Citizens climbed local hills to identify areas of forest fire, but it has been a struggle for them to put them out because of the mountain's rocky geography. Even in areas where the fire has gone down, they say their inability to cool the areas increases the risk that the fire will start again.

The cost of the fire only began to emerge yesterday. The Assyrian village of Aksu was burned to the ground. Assyrians are survivors of a genocide in Turkey; many have been forced to abandon their villages due to years of war on Mt. Judi and in the surrounding area.

Pitros Karatay is among those who returned to his village four years ago to begin to rebuild. Pitros was in the village when he heard the sound of an explosion and saw explosives light up the rural area around the village of Damlaca (Silip). He says that the fire was intentionally started to disrupt the recent repopulation of the area.

"If you can't do agriculture and pastoralism when you return to your village, if you can't benefit from the mountain and nature, you have no chance of living there," said Pitros. "So they destroyed the trees, animals, all living things. People can't live on ashes." In the past, soldiers in the area had been the biggest obstacle to Pitros and other Assyrian villagers' return to their villages.

"This year returns to the villages accelerated," said Pitros. Villagers had recently replanted vines and gardens and brought herds of animals to the area, although they had not yet built houses. "The soldiers have a clear order about the evacuated villages; they stop people returning to them. From the day we got here until today, they have tried to stop us," Pitros said.

The mountain is home to various species of deer, wild goats, hyenas, hedgehogs, desert monitors, butterflies and fruit trees. Environmental activists have started a campaign to plant 50,000 trees on Mt. Judi.

(fk/cm)