KRG responds to US Human Rights report, denies allegations

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Monday denied the US State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor’s annual report regarding human rights violations in Kurdistan.

Previously, the US Human rights and Labor organization published its annual report on rights violation in different countries, including Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Dindar Zebari, head of the Committee to Evaluate and Respond to International Reports, held a press conference in Erbil and denied the allegations.

He mentioned the KRG welcomed human rights reports by international organizations as it believed in the principles of humanity, stating the KRG viewed the concerns of those organizations with importance.

Addressing the destruction of civilians’ homes in northern Mosul, Zebari said most of the houses had been destroyed due to the clashes and booby traps planted by the Islamic State (IS).

“Only in the Zumar area, security forces confiscated 173 tons of explosives the extremist group aimed to explode the town with,” he said.

Regarding the return of displaced people to Zumar, he noted about 2,000 Kurdish and Arab families had returned home after getting permission from security and Peshmerga forces.

“About 138 Arab citizens work in the governmental offices in Zumar,” he mentioned, an indication people were not prevented from returning home.

The KRG official added some of the Arab citizens in the area joined IS, including the villagers of Aski Mosul, Hazima, and Tal.

Moreover, Zebari believed 98 percent of the villagers from Grkvar joined the insurgents and did not want to return home.

According to Zebari, many houses had been destroyed due to the clashes with IS and explosive devices planted in the area.

Peshmerga is an official force of the Peshmerga Ministry that fully abides by the laws of war.

According to the Ministry, special instructions were given to all Peshmerga forces and commanders to avoid violations while fighting IS.

The Kurdish forces are labeled as one of the most efficient ground troops defeating the extremist since their emergence in June 2014.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany