UK ambassador raised issue of civilian casualties with Turkey: minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Lord Ahmad, the British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on Monday, confirmed that the United Kingdom has raised the issue of Turkish military actions in the Kurdistan Region with Turkey.

“The British Ambassador in Ankara has raised the issue of Turkish military actions in northern Iraq with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the reports of civilian casualties,” Lord Ahmad said.

The Minister’s statement came in response to a question from Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on how Britain assesses reports that Turkish airstrikes in the Kurdistan Region have hit internally displaced people and refugee camps in Sinjar (Shingal).

“British diplomats have also discussed this with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government,” he added.

“We continue to urge dialogue and cooperation between Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, and Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security, and protect civilians.”

In its latest cross-border military campaign, the so-called Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle operations launched in mid-June, Turkish forces have killed several civilians amid ongoing clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is headquartered in the Kurdistan Region’s Qandil mountains.

The operations started on June 15 with Turkish warplanes carrying out intensive airstrikes against alleged PKK targets in Shingal, Qandil, and Makhmour.

Yezidi activists criticized the airstrikes in Shingal, fearing it could hamper the recent return of the religious minority group who were displaced during the so-called Islamic State’s genocide in August 2014.

Ankara has been fighting a decades-long conflict with the PKK over Kurdish rights in Turkey that has killed tens of thousands since it began in the 1980s.

A Turkish airstrike in rural parts of Duhok province on July 26 also killed at least two civilians.

Christian Peacemaker Teams-Iraqi Kurdistan (CPT-IK), an international human rights organization monitoring the impact of Turkish military operations on civilian lives since 2017, identified the two civilians as Dlovan Shain, 29, and Abdullah Ahmed, 34.

In a report on July 22, Human Rights Watch (HRW) suggested that Turkey failed to take adequate precautions to minimize civilian casualties.

HRW said Turkey should conduct an impartial investigation to establish if the attacks were lawful and compensate victims of any unlawful attacks.

Dindar Zebari, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Coordinator for International Advocacy, also confirmed to HRW that between June 16 to 26 at least five civilians were killed and dozens more wounded in Turkish attacks. The airstrikes also destroyed property and civilian infrastructure.

Read More: At least four civilians killed in a Turkish air raid: sources

In a June 26 statement, the Turkish Defense Ministry denied that there had been any civilian casualties since the beginning of the new assault in the Kurdistan Region.

During a press conference on July 15, Turkish consul in Erbil Hakan Karacay claimed that Turkey has “never targeted any civilian people.”

At a virtual conference organized by the Washington-based Turkish Heritage Organization on Tuesday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar denied that Turkey had killed civilians during its military operations in Syria.

“These [four major] operations were conducted with utmost care,” Akar alleged, “we never targeted or harmed any civilians, historical or religious places, or the environment.”

However, according to the monitoring group Airwars, an estimated 623 to 1,025 civilians were killed in Turkish operations in both Iraq and Syria.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany