Iraq’s Avasheen: a tourist park in the heart of conflict

It’s lunchtime, the barbecue is on and drinks are flowing at the Avasheen resort, in Zebare, Iraqi Kurdistan.

The sun is punishingly hot, but the river water is icy cold, making it ideal for cooling off.

Gazebos are dotted around the area, where people cook, relax and eat.

The view is gorgeous – green trees line the area, surrounded by a series of imposing hills and mountains right next to the resort.

But few would dare venture into the higher reaches of those hills.

The mountains that surround the resort are where neighbouring Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) guerilla group continue with their deadly, decades-long conflict.

The PKK has been fighting in an insurgency in Turkey since 1984.

The conflict has largely shifted to the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan across the Turkish border, where Turkey has intensified its air strikes against the PKK in recent years, therefore restricting the movement of the rebels who have been forced back into tunnels and caves.

While Avasheen…