Four civilians have been injured in Turkish bombardments and 1,500 people have been displaced from 22 villages, according to a report released Thursday by the Kurdistan branch of the international organization Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).
“CPT fears that these families may never have the ability to return to their homes, as Turkey has built nearby military bases armed with artillery that now threaten the lives of civilians,” read the report. The human rights organization also reported more than 7,000 dunams of land has been burned, 1,300 beehives have been destroyed, and a water project that services nine villages has been destroyed.
Ankara on April 23 launched twin operations Claw-Lightning and Claw-Thunderbolt against the PKK in Duhok’s northern border region with Turkey. It has built several military outposts within Kurdistan Region territory in order to prevent PKK movement in the area. The PKK is an armed Kurdish group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has bases in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains.
In one spot alone – Zinare Kesta – Turkey has built at least four bases, “connecting them by roads to Turkey, brought artillery, and with the artillery, Turkey is bombing the villages,” CPT’s Lukasz Firla told Rudaw.
He called on the KRG and Baghdad to protect civilians on the border and for the international community to step up. “We really hope that other countries will take action, because there are several countries that cooperate with Turkey in military equipment, in weapons,” he said, naming the European Union and United States.
Representatives of more than 100 local civil society organizations met with Kurdistan Region lawmakers on Thursday, calling on them to address Turkey’s military operation. They gave a letter to parliament, “in which they stressed the importance of preventing the damage to the environment and land near the border areas of Kurdistan Region caused by Turkey’s military attacks,” according to a statement from the parliament.
They also urged the parliament to address Iran’s diverting of water from cross-border rivers, causing shortages downstream in the Kurdistan Region.
The NGOs “demanded that serious and important steps be taken to solve these environmental and political issues as soon as possible.”
This week, photographs of illegal logging in northern Duhok were shared online, sparking outrage. Witnesses say that Turkey has cut down trees to build roads accessing their military posts and has cleared forests that used to conceal smugglers crisscrossing the border. The deforestation was confirmed using satellite imagery.
Wim Zwijnenburg, a conflict and environment analyst with the Dutch peace organization PAX, told Rudaw on Thursday that they have documented more than 90 kilometers of new roads built since May 2020. “We could clearly see that there was the construction of roads going to military outposts and military bases from what is likely to be Turkish military bases,” he said.
“And now the question is who’s responsible for it. What is happening to the wood? Where is it being exported to? And who’s making money out of this? I think this is an important case for the Kurdistan government to pick up with the Turkish government. And also to compensate the communities and civilians living in that area who have now been moved out of the area because of deforestation and because of the war,” he said.
Zwijnenburg has also observed an increase in fires sparked by the military campaign that are destroying forests, orchards, and people’s livelihoods. This is a serious problem for the local population, he said.
“The increase of deforestation will impact the way they live, it will impact their livelihoods, and it will impact the general enjoyment of the environment because it’s getting degraded because of the conflict,” he said.
The KRG said it has “warned Turkey to cease deforestation at the border areas, which is unacceptable.” The Iraqi and Kurdish agriculture ministries issued a joint statement condemning Turkey’s action and calling for international intervention. And Iraqi President Barham Salih called the civilian displacement and environmental destruction “inhumane practices and an environmental crime.”
Turkey’s Defence Ministry has said they show “maximum sensitivity and attention” to civilians and the environment during operations.
