ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday defended itself against a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticizing the Kurdish Peshmerga forces for the unlawful destruction of homes and buildings in liberated villages from ISIS, as the operation to retake Mosul continues.
The HRW report “examines the conduct of KRG security forces in areas where they have defeated ISIS, all within the so-called disputed areas” finding “a pattern of apparently unlawful demolitions of buildings and homes, and in many cases entire villages, between September 2014 and May 2016, in 17 villages and towns in Kirkuk and four in Nineveh governorate.”
According to the report, many of these homes and buildings were destroyed by either arson, heavy equipment or explosives after ISIS had been forced out and the Peshmerga had taken control of the village.
Joe Stork, Deputy Director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa division, explained to Rudaw that although HRW appreciates the dilemma Peshmerga forces face in eradicating ISIS, there must be a military purpose in destroying personal property.
“This is a war. In a war, people get hurt, buildings get damaged but there has got to be some military necessity for attacking that building,” Stork explained. “We are talking about attacks after they [Peshmerga forces] are fully in control of the area.”
In response, Dindar Zebari, assistant head of Kurdistan's Department of Foreign Relations, told reporters at a press conference that the destruction to property in liberated areas was more due to IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and “significant presence of coalition airstrikes” rather than the Peshmerga carrying out demolitions.
“The large presence of IEDs placed in these areas, especially civilian properties, has been a huge cause of the destruction following the liberation process... as well as a heavy presence of airstrikes” Zebari said.
“[ISIS] fighters have booby trapped many homes and this is another reason that has been explained,” Zebari added, further describing causes for the reported property damage.
In addition to ISIS car bombs, shelling from both sides and airstrikes, Zebari said some houses in particular areas were demolished because they were used as chemical weapon factories, and others ISIS-dug tunnels, in some cases as long as 180 meters.
“Up to this moment, we have not seen a complaint filed against the Peshmerga forces, neither from the Iraqi citizens, nor from the citizens of the Kurdistan Region, or from the people of the liberated areas,” Zebari said, while noting that no legal complaints have been filed against the Peshmerga forces elsewhere outside the Region, either.
Zebari also emphasized during the press conference that the KRG sympathizes with what many of the Sunni Arabs were subjected to by ISIS.
“Sunni Arabs are the victims here,” he said.
The KRG response mentioned in the report states that much of the destruction to the buildings was caused by the US-led coalition as well as from mortar and artillery fire. The report also relayed that Peshmerga commanders claim that “Peshmerga detonated ISIS-planted improvised explosive devices in order to defuse the devices, causing further destruction.”
At the press conference, Zebari also emphasized the skepticism many of the Peshmerga forces are burdened by, claiming that they are unsure about whom to trust in the liberated villages and who may still be supporting ISIS.
“The biggest problem we are facing is the civilian cooperation, civilian sympathy to lose ISIS fighter terrorists,” Zebari explained, indicating why Peshmerga fighters may be likely to destroy buildings as a precautionary measure. “This is something that has been a key challenge for us and I have to say the efforts will be ongoing.”
However, as confirmed in the HRW report, Stork relayed that HRW identified 83 villages and focused in on 21 of them. “There was extensive property damage after the [Peshmerga] had taken full control. There was no longer any issue of fighting with ISIS. There were no longer issues of airstrikes or anything like that.”
“You got to have a legitimate military reason for doing that,” Stork said in response to destroying buildings in the aftermath of a battle, “and we haven’t gotten any legitimate military reasons. We know they’re not airstrikes. We know it’s not artillery mortars.”
“If you go to these villages, you can get a pretty good idea from looking at the destruction whether it was caused by an airstrike or by a bulldozer, or by an IED, or a mortar or whatever. You can also tell that from the satellite imagery pretty well.”
In conclusion, the HRW report calls on the United States, Germany and other countries providing military assistance to pressure the KRG to investigate these allegations as well as their own participation in these alleged allegations.
Amnesty International issued a similar report back in January of 2016 also regarding the alleged demolition of homes in Arab communities in “an apparent effort to uproot Arab communities in revenge for their perceived support for the so-called Islamic State.”
Despite ongoing disagreements between HRW and the KRG, Zebari made a point to emphasize the KRG’s willingness to continue to work with HRW and other international organizations.
“We will definitely keep this dialogue with Human Rights Watch and other international organizations,” Zebari said. “The KRG is proud to have hosted large number of international organizations in Kurdistan.”
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