The People’s Defence Forces (HPG) have accused Turkey of using banned explosives, chemical gases and tactical nuclear bombs in its military operations against Kurdish guerrillas in Iraqi Kurdistan, Roj News reported.
The armed conflict in the Zap region of the Kurdistan region of Iraq has recently intensified with Turkey’s escalated attacks on Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) guerrilla positions, mainly in the Zap region.
The HPG, the military wing of the PKK, claimed that the guerrillas had effectively repulsed the attacks and that Turkey had failed to achieve its objectives in its cross-border operations. The HPG also said that since 24 September, the Turkish forces, who are in a deep pressure and tactical blockade in the Zap region, resorted to banned weapons again. Recalling that this is a war crime, HPG called for “sensitivity towards the Turkish army’s crimes”.
The PKK has accused Turkey of using chemical weapons and poisonous gases against its forces since the late 1990s. While new allegations have emerged in recent years, the group also made the accusations in Turkey’s southeastern border province of Şırnak (Şirnêx) in 1999 and in the neighbouring province of Hakkari (Colemêrg) in 2009.
The most recent allegations relate to Turkey’s military operations in the Zap, Metîna and Avaşîn areas of the Kurdistan Region, which began in April 2022 and reportedly continue to this day.
Previously, the HPG announced the deaths of 17 Kurdish guerrillas due to the use of chemical weapons in August, September and October 2022. Videos released by the group show two HPG members in convulsions and a state of delirium after what they say was exposure to chemical weapons. Dr Peppe Savary, president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) Switzerland, said at the time that there was sufficient evidence to support the allegations.
More recently, on 14 July, the HPG Press Centre issued a statement alleging the use of tactical nuclear bombs, a weapon that is in the inventory of NATO member states but whose use requires the organisation’s exclusive authorisation.
Tactical nuclear weapons, also known as non-strategic nuclear weapons, are designed for use on the battlefield, particularly when friendly forces are in close proximity. These weapons, which are not governed by international treaties, have lower explosive yields and shorter-range delivery vehicles.
While the Geneva Conventions prohibit any direct or indirect control over nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, there is currently no specific treaty in force that effectively prohibits their use. The International Court of Justice has recognised that the use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the principles of international humanitarian law. However, the Court has been unable to determine definitively whether such use would be unlawful in “extreme circumstances involving the survival of a State”.