Makhmour refugee camp

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Makhmur refugee camp
?قضاء مخمور
قەزای مەخموور
Qezayê Mexmûr
Refugee camp
Coordinates: 35°47′21.5″N 43°36′21.95″E / 35.789306°N 43.6060972°E / 35.789306; 43.6060972
Country Iraq
GovernorateNineveh Governorate[1]
Establishment1998
SeatMakhmur
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)

The Makhmur refugee camp (also spell Makhmour), which was founded in 1998, is located in the Makhmur District, Iraq.[2] About 12,000 Kurdish refugees, who fled the civil war between Kurds and the Turkish army in the 1990s, live in this refugee camp.[3] The refugees and their descendants stem from the depopulated Kurdish villages in Turkey.[4] The Turkish authorities claim they had to depopulate the villages as they have been infiltrated by PKK militants.[4]

Background[]

In 1994, the refugees fleeing the Kurdish villages close to the Turkish Iraqi border were initially based in a camp in Atroush, further north, but in 1997,[5] the Atroush camp was closed by the after Turkey made accusations that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) recruited members among its inhabitants.[5] Following, a major part of the inhabitants accepted an offer by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to move to Makhmur and another group moved to Ain Sifni.[6] From Ain Sifni the refugees had to flee fighting between the PKK and the KDP, who was supported in its fight by the Turkish army. The Refugees then settled to Sheikan, but their situation remained dire as the KDP did not allow the UNHCR to provide help to the refugees.[6] Eventually the World Food Programm and the UNHCR managed to gain access to the refugees.[6] Then the refugees opted to also move to Makhmur and join the other former inhabitants of the Atroush Camp.[6]

History[]

The Makhmur camp was established in 1998 on orders of Saddam Hussein.[7] Since the refugees have built homes[8] and developed an own education system.[7] The camp receives the support of the UNHCR. The UNHCR assisted to provide the refugees with legal documentation in 2011, which allows them to access to education and health services. Holders of the residency permit are also permitted to apply for work provided by the Government.[5]

In 2014, as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) captured large areas of Iraq, the Makhmour Protection Units (MPU) where established in the camp.[9] The same year, Masoud Barzani, then the president of the KRG visited the camp, after the Kurdish forces evicted ISIL from the Kurdish regions south of Erbil.[9] From July 2019 onwards, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has limited the liberty of movement of most of the inhabitants of the camp in such way, that many have lost their jobs outside of the camp and the health services were not been able to be provided in an adequate way, the Human Rights Watch reported in November 2019.[10] Dindar Zebari from the KRG stated that the measure was taken out of security reasons.[10]

Turkish airstrikes[]

The refugee camp and its surroundings are often a target for Turkish airstrikes[11][12] which has led to condemnation by the Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim[13] and caused the inhabitants of the camp to label the Turkish army no better than ISIL.[3] Several members of the PKK come from this camp. A "Garden of the Martyrs" was established at the camp, where deceased PKK members are remembered.[2] In 2019, an airstrike on the camp killed a fox.[14] Makhmur Camp was bombed during Operation Claw-Eagle, launched by the Turkish Armed Forces on 15 June 2020. A Turkish official spoke to the BBC after the operation, claimed the airstrikes to have taken place for the roads built in the area which were as to "We carried out an operation in Makhmur more than a year ago, we destroyed their warehouses. We saw that they made new storage in a year. New roads were built around Makhmur. They are seeking to infiltrate our country through these roads. For this reason, we organized an operation once again.''[15]

In June 2021, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan demanded from the Iraqi Government and also the United Nations (UN) that the PKK should be evicted from the camp or Turkey would do it themselves as a member of UN.[16][17] On Saturday 5th, during the Operations Claw-Lightning and Thunderbolt, Turkey made a target airstrike assassination killing the camp manager, Dr. Bozkir, as well as two others.[18][19] Turkey claimed Bozkir to be a senior PKK official and the camp to be "an incubator for terrorism".[18]

The Jerusalem Post claimed the strike may have political value to distract from national embarrassment or may be motivated to continue to demonstrate and sell Turkish drones abroad.[14] The US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed her opposition to airstrikes in civilian housing areas, a new stature compared to the Trump's administration laissez-faire.[14]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ a b Çerny, Hannes (2018). Iraqi Kurdistan, the PKK and International Relations. Routledge. p. 260. ISBN 9781138676176.
  3. ^ a b Otten, Cathy (2015-08-02). "'This is a betrayal': Kurdish villagers in Iraq say Turkey is 'no different from Isis'". The Independent. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  4. ^ a b Cocks, Tim; Aqrawi, Shamal (2009-09-09). "Kurdish rebel supporters seek a way back to Turkey". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  5. ^ a b c Caux, Helene (June 2011). "UNAMI Newsletter, United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq" (PDF). Refworld. United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey". Refworld.org. U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 1 January 1999. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  7. ^ a b Perrier, Guillaume (2009-08-21). "Au camp de Makhmour, en Irak, les exilés kurdes conservent leur confiance à Öcalan et rêvent de retourner en Turquie". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  8. ^ Jenna, Krajeski. "Between Turkey and Iraq: The Kurds of the Makhmour Refugee Camp". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  9. ^ a b "Deadly explosion at Kurdish refugee camp was airstrike, statement". Rudaw. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  10. ^ a b "Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Refugees' Movements Restricted". Human Rights Watch. 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  11. ^ "Turkey carries out dozens of airstrikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region". Bianet. 15 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Bombing a refugee camp with jets". ANF News. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  13. ^ "Iraq Summons Turkish Ambassador over Refugee Camp Strike". Asharq AL-awsat. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  14. ^ a b c "US concerned after Turkey attacks refugee camp". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  15. ^ "TSK'nın Kuzey Irak'taki hava operasyonu hakkında neler biliniyor?". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  16. ^ "Erdogan says Turkey could target refugee camp deep inside Iraq". Reuters. 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  17. ^ Hewson, Jack (2021-06-05). "Turkish drone attack kills three civilians in northern Iraq Kurdish refugee camp". France 24. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  18. ^ a b "Erdogan says Turkey 'neutralised' PKK official in Iraq camp strike". Reuters. 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  19. ^ https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/senior-pkk-terrorist-neutralized-by-turkish-forces-erdogan/2265536
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