400-year-old oak damage under judicial probe in KRI

Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Authorities in Al-Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), have opened a judicial investigation after a branch broke off one of the KRI's oldest oak trees, estimated to be around 400 years old.

The Forestry and Environment Directorate said police in Arbat subdistrict received a report about the damage to the tree in Darbaro village, prompting an investigating judge to order a formal inquiry and instruct authorities to preserve the broken branch as evidence.

Field teams are conducting technical inspections to determine whether the damage to the centuries-old oak —considered one of the KRI's heritage trees and a prominent natural landmark for residents of Darbaro village and surrounding areas— resulted from natural causes, such as strong winds or age, or from deliberate human interference.

Read more: Kurdistan’s forests under threat: War, climate, and efforts to rebuild