A new documentary by the BBC World Service titled ‘The Forbidden Zone: Why Is Turkey Building Military Bases Inside Iraq?’ uncovers Turkey’s growing military presence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and its impact on civilians. The documentary, published on 30 April, gained 50,000 views within the first 24 hours of being published.
By gathering information from satellite images and social media, the BBC was able to determine the exact position of Turkey’s outposts and military bases in Iraqi territory, with over 130 bases along the Turkish border in northern Iraq, which the BBC refers to as the ‘Forbidden Zone’. The BBC pointed out how the war that the Turkish state is waging against guerrilla positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has transformed into a military operation with many bases located deep in Iraqi territory.
The documentary highlights the human cost of Turkey’s military expansion, with 711 civilians killed or injured in Turkish operations since 1991, and families forced to abandon their homes and farmland due to Turkish attacks. In the documentary, the BBC follows the story of Hashan, a farmer who was injured in two targeted Turkish air strikes that killed his cousin Alan in August 2023.
The documentary also investigates the role of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Iraqi Kurdistan, which, according to the BBC, “has enabled Turkey’s influence in the region, obstructed justice for civilian casualties, and denied financial compensation to victims’ families.”
Kurdish politician Hoshyar Zebari of the KDP responds to the allegations in the documentary, highlighting the ideological contradictions between the PKK and the KDP. Zübeyir Aydar, a member of the Kurdish National Council (KNK), also responds to questions from the BBC, denying that the PKK’s presence in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is the reason for Turkey’s targeting and killing of civilians.
The BBC noted that even though they had repeatedly asked Turkish authorities for an interview, they received no reply.
