Turkish helicopters and fighter aircraft cover the sky in the Kurdish area in northern Iraq. The Turkish Air Force has bombed 381 sites in the major military operation in recent weeks in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region (DRC). The Turkish Ministry of Defence has stated that "the caves, shelters, bunkers, warehouses and facilities used by separatist groups have been destroyed".
In April 2024, the Iraqi Federal Government and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) approved that the Turkish Army carry out military operations in northern Iraq in exchange for an agreement with Turkey on matters relating to infrastructure, oil and water. The United States has implicitly accepted the operation: “Although we understand that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a threat, the Turkish Government must respect Iraq’s sovereignty and do those military operations in a coordinated manner.” As a result, the Turkish army has intensified its attacks on the Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq. In the centre of June a new offensive was launched, in which tension has skyrocketed considerably.
The Turkish army has intensified its offensive against the Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq. The new offensive started in mid-June and tension has increased considerably
The Turkish President, Erdogan, plans to create a 40-kilometre "security corridor" on the border between Turkey and Iraq to dismantle the Kurdish guerrilla. Despite the fact that it had already entered Iraq, the PKK guerrillas are still fortified in the mountains of the area. Erdogan is under pressure that deaths are accumulating in the army and that promises of triumph over the Kurds remain unfulfilled. The attempt to further dominate northern Iraq is linked to broader economic and geopolitical strategies, both at home and abroad.
In the last elections in May 2023, President Erdogan suffered an electoral defeat after 22 years in power. Although they were presented in unequal conditions, the main strength of the opposition was the CHP and the prokurdish DEM party, which achieved a great ascent. The Kurds have called for a political solution to the Kurdistan case, as well as for the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK in prison. However, the Government of Erdogan has decided to intensify its military operations to seek the support of the Turkish nationalists for the resolution.
Turkey is expanding north of Iraq through the economic project Iraq Development Road Project. This project aims to create a trade step towards 2028 from the border with Turkey to Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, in southern Iraq. Iraqis want to become one of the major trade corridors, but they compete with other projects such as the India-Middle East Economic Corridor - Europe, powered by the United States.
Turkey stretches north of Iraq through the economic project Iraq Development Road Project
Social media videos show Turkey’s progress in the mountains of northern Iraq, an area where Kurds and Assyrian Christians live. Many Turkish tanks are on the streets of the Amediye region in northern Iraq, and soldiers register villages in search of guerrilla fighters. According to local Rojnews, the Turkish Armed Forces have mobilized more than 300 military armed vehicles and at least 1,000 soldiers, all of them of Turkish nationality. The town of Amediye has been around since 22 June. Amediye is an old town in a plain, between the mountain ranges of Metina and Gare. In the mountains of Metina there have been strong clashes between the Turkish Army and the guerrillas, and the Turks have tried to conquer the Gare range, which is an important base of the PKK guerrillas.
A journalist from Voice of America broadcast on 28 June a video showing how the Turkish Army has established checkpoint and military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan. According to the NGO Community Peace Maker Teams (CPT), the Turkish Army has carried out at least 1,219 bombings in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2024 since mid-June 381. The CPT notes that military attacks have forced the displacement of a significant part of the population and have destroyed a large number of agricultural land in the Amediy area. At least 170 villages have been forced to move and another 602 are at risk of being evicted.
“Children cannot sleep. Most of us have sold for fear of military operations and have stopped working the land."
In addition to the eight civilians who died this year, the attacks have caused damage and destruction to many civilian infrastructures in the area. For example, the Mizhe school was destroyed by air strikes at the end of February and, in recent military operations, a Christian monastery of Miska, both in the Amediye region. The authorities of the locality of Kesta have assured that they are "scared" by the new increase in violence in the area. “Children cannot sleep. For fear of military operations, most of us have sold the animals and stopped working the land. We want to live in peace.”
If Turkey succeeds in conquering the mountain areas of Metina and Gare, the whole western part of Iraqi Kurdistan would be in the hands of Turkey. Recently, one eastern ruler said that almost half of his region is also under Turkey’s control. The tacit approval of the international community enables Erdogan to conquer more and more territories.
*Justus Johannsen, journalist, Middle East expert
Urtzi Urrutikoetxea nazioarteko kazetariarekin mintzatu gara Radio Kobanen, iaz idatzitako Kurdistan-Argi bat ekialde hurbilean liburuari buruz. Testuak azken urteetako gertakizunei erreparatzen die, eta atzerago ere begiratzen du herri kurduaren egoera politikoa eta... [+]
