Tensions continue in the border villages of the town of Uludere where 34 people were killed in a Turkish air force attack that mistakenly targeted them in December 2011. Villagers have been frequently confronting soldiers in the area in light of the increased military presence since March 2014. A deputy of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was reportedly manhandled by soldiers July 7. Villagers say that they are prevented from practicing animal husbandry and border smuggling — their main sources of income — and that moves by the military in the area have crippled the economy they rely on for survival.

The airstrike on Dec. 28, 2011, took place close to the Iraq-Turkey border, and most of the fatalities were from the villages of Ortasu and Gulyazi, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border.

While the incident has long been forgotten outside of the area, it still occupies a place on Turkey’s agenda, especially with reports of rising tensions in the area. The noticeable increase in military activities in the area is the main cause of friction; officials say soldiers are involved in routine border security, but villagers claim that the soldiers are preventing them from earning a living.

The main source of income for people in dozens of villages along the border is the illegal border trade with Iraqi Kurdistan. Villagers travel by mule and buy tea, sugar, cigarettes and diesel fuel at cheap rates in Iraq and sell them at a profit in Turkey. This unsupervised and tax-free trade has been going on for years because of the smugglers' skills and the officials looking the other way. Smuggling did not stop, even after the attack in 2011 that killed 29 people from the extended Encu family, until a few days ago.