On Friday, four people were killed in a Turkish airstrike in Shiladze in Duhok governorate. Another person was killed in a separate airstrike on Wednesday, bringing the civilian death toll since Turkey first launched its operation on Monday to five.

Farms along the border have suffered significant damage from the attacks, according to local residents.

“With great sadness, we observe the recent events at the border that caused the martyrdom of the people and the residents of the area,” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Spokesperson Jotiar Adil on said in statement posted late in the evening.

Adil called on Turkey to respect the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region, but also asked the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) should to the Region, so as not to cause any problem or conflict that may bring chaos to the area.

“The KRG wants a friendly relationship with neighboring countries and does not want any attack on them from inside the Kurdistan Region,” Adil said.

“These attacks have tragically killed civilians, and caused significant damage to villages in the areas concerned,” Jotiar Adil said. “The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemns the killing of civilians unreservedly.”

Turkish authorities did not comment on civilian deaths, but stated that three PKK members had been killed.

The PKK has a large base in northern Iraq’s Qandil mountains, where a U.N.-run refugee camp is also situated for civilians who fled persecution in Turkey during the height of the conflict with PKK in the 1990s. The group, designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, also has several bases and encampments scattered throughout the region.

“The KRG wishes to have friendly relations with all neighboring states. Kurdistan Region’s territory should not be used to launch attacks on any country,” Adil said.

The KRG frequently accuses the PKK of drawing hostility to the region, as neighboring Turkey and Iran often cross the region’s borders to launch operations against various groups affiliated or semi-affiliated with it.

Some 1,800 Turkish companies do business in the Kurdistan region, including many construction projects, and Turkey’s exports to the region amount to some $7 billion. Turkish companies close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have built airports, refineries, roads, office blocks and a university campus in the region.

On Monday, Turkish forces launched a series of airstrikes across northern Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, hitting targets in Qandil, Makhmour, Haji Omaran, and Mount Sinjar and has continued daily airstrikes since then. It also began a ground operation in Duhok governorate on Wednesday.

Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Turkish ambassador twice in three days this week to lodge formal protests.

Twice this week, demonstrators protesting the Turkish operations have been out on the streets of Sulaimani, the second largest city in the region.

Reporter’s code: 50101