The monitor examined four Turkish military operations in the Region between May 2017 and June 2018 which killed at least six civilian men and one woman and injured another man.
HRW based its research on testimonies, photographs, and death certificates submitted by witnesses.
In all of these cases there did not seem to be a legitimate military target nearby, raising concerns the strikes may break international law. HRW said the incidents must be investigated and the families compensated.
“As Turkey steps up operations in Iraq, it should be taking all feasible precautions to avoid harming civilians there,” Lama Fakih, HRW deputy Middle East director, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Turkey should investigate possible unlawful strikes that killed civilians, punish those responsible for wrongdoing, and compensate victims’ families.”
Turkish jets and ground forces regularly attack suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) hideouts in the Kurdistan Region. The armed opposition group, which fights for greater Kurdish political and cultural rights in Turkey, is headquartered in the Region’s Qandil Mountains.
Airstrikes on the rural north of Duhok regularly start forest fires and disrupt farming.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has regularly condemned the Turkish strikes and called on the PKK to withdraw from the Region’s territory.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced over the weekend that federal border guards will be stationed along the Kurdistan Region’s border with Turkey to monitor incursions and report back to the UN.
“While the obligation to investigate and compensate lies with Turkey, Baghdad and Erbil should take all possible steps to protect Iraqi civilians from unlawful military operations,” Fakih said.
HRW says it has written to authorities in Ankara, Baghdad, and Erbil to address the problem. Only Erbil has responded.
Dindar Zebari, the KRG coordinator for international advocacy, told HRW the Region does not coordinate with the Turkish Armed Forces and is not warned ahead of strikes.
He told the rights monitor the KRG “encouraged a peaceful settlement of conflict between both sides” and has condemned attacks that have harmed civilians.
Attacks and their consequences are regularly reported to Baghdad by the Ministry of Peshmerga and Erbil has asked the federal government several times to address the issue with Ankara, Zebari added.
