Peregraf- Ammar Aziz
Villagers from Duhok are filing lawsuits in Turkish courts against Ankara seeking compensation for the damage caused by Turkey’s cross-border military offensive in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. So far, fifteen legal complaints have been filed, with more expected.
For many years, the Turkish military has been fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) inside the Kurdistan Region. It launched a major offensive in June. In this latest push, six civilians have been killed and two others wounded. Residents have evacuated several villages.
However, this is not a new dynamic. The displacement and violence have been happening for decades.
"I have received fifteen complaints, eleven of which were in Sharansh village and four in Parakh village, Other people want to file complaints and the number is increasing," Hishyar Özlep, a lawyer in Turkey’s Diyarbakır province, told Peregraf. The villages are located in the Zakho Independent Administration in Duhok governorate.
Manal Habib Isa, the head of Sharansh village, fled his home along with 70 other local families three years ago due to Turkey’s continuous bombing and fighting with the PKK.
"I had three houses and a shop. We left everything with my belongings. We don't know what happened to my houses and things," he told Peregraf.
This year alone, seventeen civilians have been killed and four others wounded in Turkish military attacks in the Kurdistan Region and northern Iraq, according to the latest report of war monitor Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT).
"Not only me, but the entire village has been affected. So, I have filed two complaints against Turkey. Our main demand is that the Turkish government compensate us because we lost everything," Habib said.
In addition to human casualties and economic damage, the conflict is also harming the region’s cultural heritage. Affected areas are home to ancient religious and archaeological sites covering the Neolithic, Sumerian, Babylonian, Mede, Mitanni, and Kardokhi periods.
Özlep said that the claims are based on a Turkish law passed in 2014, which provides compensation to those affected by the "war against terrorism."
"The content of this law does not say that those who will be compensated must be in Turkey or citizens of that country. Because of the absence of this requirement, the law covers the residents of the Kurdistan Region who have been affected," Özlep said.
From the beginning of 1991 until June this year, 344 civilians have been killed and 358 others injured in Turkish attacks in the Kurdistan Region. Forty-four percent of these happened in Duhok’s Amedi and Syedkan districts.
Jawhar Mohammed, the director of Darkar district in Zakho Independent Administration, told Peregraf that the local authorities have documented claims filed by families affected by the Turkish bombings and fighting with the PKK, but they have not yet distributed compensation.
About 17 villages have been evacuated in Darkar, out of 64 villages in the region. "The other villages have no security problems and their people have remained," Mohammed added.
In mid-August, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has promised between 20 million and 500 million Iraqi dinars for 103 families affected by the latest Turkish operation, but it has not yet been paid out.
"Only compensation will be paid for the damage to houses and vehicles, but no one has been compensated for orchards and agricultural land," Rebar Sadiq, the district director of Deraluk, told Peregraf earlier.
However, Turkey's compensation provisions are different and include agricultural land, livestock, cars, houses, and many other losses.
Özlep explained that there is a committee in each province attached to the Ministry of Reconstruction, which is responsible for determining the amount of compensation. It estimates the damage to the house and planted land according to the type and how many years have passed.
"I am sure that those who filed complaints in the Kurdistan Region will be compensated," he said. "If they are not compensated through the committee formed in each city according to the law, then we will appeal to the Turkish Administrative Court."
He added that if that was not successful that the case could be brought to the International Court of Human Rights, based on Turkey’s membership in the European Convention on Human Rights.
In Iraq, there is a law on compensation for victims of war, military operations and terrorist acts, which was issued and amended in 2009. This covers victims in the Kurdistan Region, but most have not yet received funds.
Vian Sabri, a member of the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Peregraf that no complaints have been filed by the victims of the operations in Turkey.
"But in general, we have discussed in parliamentary meetings that those affected by the Turkish bombings and their fight with the PKK should be compensated," she said.
Iraq has a 362-kilometer border with Turkey, most of which is on land. It is mountainous and difficult to control. The Turkish military controls significant areas inside Iraqi territory as part of its fight against the PKK, reaching between five and 40 kilometers beyond its border. It maintains 74 military bases and headquarters in the Kurdistan Region, according to CPT.
The Turkish military’s current goal is to take control of Gara Mountain and fully secure the Iraq-Turkey border to prevent movement by PKK fighters.
"There is no place in the world where a citizen cannot return to his village or where it has been damaged and they are not compensated. Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government must come to the line, so that these citizens receive their compensation from Turkey," Özlep said.
By targeting civilians in the Kurdistan Region, Turkey is violating international humanitarian law. As a result, legal action can be taken against these actions in international courts and centers, Professor Gabor Rona, international law expert, told Peregraf.
"Targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a violation of international humanitarian law. Unintentional damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, even as a result of an attack on an authorized military target, is a violation," Rona said.
"It's unparalleled in terms of human damage."