ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Indiscriminate firing between Peshmerga and Iraqi killed five civilians and injured at least 51 in Tuz Khurmatu, Human Rights Watch has reported, condemning the central government for “lashing out” against media coverage of this week’s events in Khurmatu and Kirkuk. The rights monitor also found that Iraqi security forces in Tuz Khurmatu allowed civilians to loot properties for at least a full day before taking action. “Iraqi and Kurdish forces need to resolve the current crisis in ways that fully respects human rights and avoids harming civilians or their property,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a statement on Friday regarding clashes that began on Monday in and around Kirkuk. Medical workers at a hospital reported to HRW that five civilians were killed and another 51 wounded. The rights group spoke with three men who were wounded “by apparent indiscriminate fire.” All three reported mortars or artillery fire in the early hours of Monday morning. “I don’t know why our house was hit,” said one man, Hamid. “There was no fighting nearby, nor any military installations that I know of.” His home was hit by a munition that knocked him unconscious. When we woke up he was bleeding from his head and torso. On return from the hospital, he found two large holes in his living room roof where he had been sitting with his mother and brother at the time of the attack. Tuz Khurmatu residents stated that the heaviest fighting occurred in Turkmen neighborhoods located near Kurdish and Hashd al-Shaabi military and security installations. Residents also reported looting in a mainly Kurdish neighbourhood of Tuz Khurmatu. One resident said officers of Iraq’s Emergency Response Division were watching boys loot Kurdish-owned shops and a man drive by in a truck carrying electronics like TVs, but did nothing to stop the looting. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) released a statement on Thursday saying the UN had received reports of the burning of roughly 150 houses in Tuz Khurmatu by armed groups on Monday and Tuesday and some houses of Kurdish families and political officials were blown up. Attacks against Turkmen parties’ political offices in Kirkuk province were also reported per the UN press release. HRW stated that during the early hours of Wednesday, the local head of the Badr Organization, one of the most prominent Hashd al-Shaabi groups, publicly called on all civilians within Tuz Khurmatu to cease looting houses and businesses. Aid workers also reported to HRW that two civilians were killed or wounded near a camp for displaced persons southeast of Kirkuk. HRW “was unable to obtain any specific civilian casualty numbers for other areas in and around Kirkuk.” HRW could not verify reports of looting or arson in Kirkuk. The rights monitor noted Baghdad’s condemnation of Rudaw and Kurdistan 24 for their coverage of this week’s events. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command had accused the two media outlets of misleading public opinion and making “baseless accusations” against the security forces. HRW said it was concerned about Iraqi broadcast guidelines that forbid media from publishing material against the security forces. “Lashing out against media unfavourable to Baghdad undermines the same authorities who are telling Iraqis they are protecting the rights of all of the equally,” said Stork. According to UN reports, some 61,000 people fled their homes from Kirkuk and surrounding areas on Monday to stay with relatives located in more stable areas, with some of them returning home in the following days. The UN urged the Iraqi government to “take every action to halt any violence and ensure that all civilians are protected and that the perpetrators of acts of violence, intimidation and forced displacement of civilians be brought to justice.”
