The parliament set up a special committee on June 29 to visit areas affected by Turkish and Iranian attacks, assess the security situation, and provide an estimate of the losses. The formation of the committee came on the heels of a coordinated attack by Turkey and Iran in mid-June on fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups stationed in the border areas adjacent to these two countries.
“At least 504 villages have been emptied,” across the Kurdistan Region, Dr. Rebwar Babkaye who oversaw the team investigating Erbil province, told Rudaw English. Verifying information, however, was a challenge for the committee, he explained, and it was difficult for the committee to provide concrete data.
“One of the main issues that we’ve had is collecting data and information about the exact human and material losses. But I can say with certainty that in Erbil province alone, hundreds of people have been killed since 1992 and tens of thousands of people have been displaced as a result of the PKK-Turkey war,” he said.
Most of the displacement occurred in Duhok and Erbil provinces, according to the report which also concluded that dozens of civilians have been killed in Turkish and Iranian airstrikes, shelling, and incursions into the Kurdistan Region. They did not put a figure on the monetary losses villagers have incurred, but estimated it to be in the tens of millions of dollars.
Committee members visited all four provinces in the Kurdistan Region as well as the Shingal area in July, interviewing locals and administrators in the affected areas. Parliament debated their report in late July and Rudaw has obtained a copy.
The Amedi district in Duhok province is the most affected region. Here, Christians and Muslims live side-by-side. “The team visited the [Amedi] district, which consists of six sub-districts, namely Shiladze, Deraluk, Kani Masi, Bamarni, Sarsang and Chamanke… Out of 348 villages, 198 have been emptied,” the report stated.
At least 28 civilians have been killed and four wounded in Amedi district since 1992 when the Kurdistan Regional Government was established under the auspices of western countries.
The second most affected area was the Sidakan sub-district in Erbil province where around 104 villages have been displaced as a result of fighting. In the adjacent sub-district of Mergasur, another 55 villages have been abandoned.
In Sulaimani province, the rate of displacement due to Iranian shelling and bombing is far less, but Iran has deployed forces to the border area and has breached the frontier in a number of places. Iran has violated “the Iraqi border… in the border areas in Keli and Jasusan” as well as “violating the 1975 agreement… and breaching the border area in Sepiro,” stated the report.
The 1975 Algiers Agreement demarked some stretches of the Iran-Iraq border.
Turkey has also conducted airstrikes in Sulaimani province in recent years, targeting members of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) affiliated with the PKK. A strike on June 25, which killed a PJAK fighter, also wounded seven civilians and caused material damage to the tune of 25 million dinars ($20,000).
Turkish violations
In Duhok’s Zakho district, Turkish forces have carried out operations 40 kilometres deep inside Iraqi Kurdistan territory, setting up new bases, according to the report. In the space of one month, from June 5 to July 4, Turkish forces fired almost 669 shells and 70 rockets at border villages in Zakho. “Around 50 civilians have been killed since 1992 and tens of others wounded,” the report stated. “In the past there were four Turkish bases, but now there are another 18 bases in the area.”
Nine civilians have been killed and 21 wounded in Dinarte sub-district of Duhok province since 1996. “Dinarte sub district has seen extensive damage as a result of attacks from the Turkish state… out of 91 villages, nearly 24 villages have been displaced and the rest are living in the shadow of Turkish shelling and bombing,” the report stated.
Damage to the environment, tourism sector, and agricultural sector was also extensive.
The committee condemned Turkey and Iran for their deadly attacks.
The report also called on the PKK, PJAK, and other Iranian Kurdish opposition groups “to take into consideration the constitutional position of the Kurdistan Region and do not give excuse to neighboring countries to carry out attacks or deploy their forces to the Kurdistan Region.”
The committee called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold talks with the federal government in Baghdad to prevent Turkish and Iranian violations of the borders and to compensate villagers who have been displaced as a result of the fighting.
Updated at 3:38 pm
