Al-Sulaymaniyah police arrest five over illegal tree cutting

Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Forest Police in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region (KRI) arrested five people in Al-Sulaymaniyah on Tuesday over the cutting of mature trees in several parts of the province, including 186 oak trees aged between 15 and 30 years.

According to a police statement, four people were arrested in the Mirgapan area and Yakhsemer village over the cutting of the oaks. In a separate case in Sitak, officers found a number of additional trees that had been cut and arrested a fifth person.

The Forest Police said it would continue enforcement efforts to curb violations against forest resources and protect forests and trees across the province.

In August, authorities in the province opened a judicial investigation after one of the oldest oak trees in Arbat subdistrict was broken, a case that drew attention from environmental authorities because of the tree’s historical and natural value. On Oct. 1, the Aynda Organization for Environmental Protection warned that forests in parts of the Kurdistan Region were again being cut and burned and called for stronger legal and government action.

Read more: KRI forests face renewed tree-cutting threat as winter approaches