Turkey launched the second airstrike in a week on the Makhmour refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan on Monday, striking the outdoor space of a resident’s home, at a time that a United Nations and Iraqi delegation were present in the camp. The attack, which occurred at around 10am, has intensified concerns over civilian safety amid repeated Turkish assaults on the camp.
This follows an earlier attack on 10 September, when a Turkish drone struck a residence within the camp, injuring three women — Gulê Ozek, Edîbe Paksoy and Ezime Kabul — all members of the Peace Mothers movement. The women were seated outside the building when the drone fired, damaging the property and causing serious injuries. One of the women remains in critical condition.
The Makhmour camp, established in 1994 by Kurdish refugees fleeing a Turkish military campaign, has been targeted numerous times in recent years, this being the 13th attack since 2019. The latest two airstrikes both occurred during a visit by a UN and Iraqi delegation, which on Monday had been in the camp for 12 days, to conduct identification and registration procedures. The presence of international personnel has raised concerns about their safety amid increasing Turkish military activity.
Camp residents, many of whom have been there for 40 years of their lives since the camp’s inception, have called on the Iraqi government to intervene and prevent further attacks. Despite mounting unrest, Baghdad has yet to issue an official response to these incidents. Meanwhile, Turkish drones have reportedly continued to hover over the area, keeping residents on high alert and fuelling fears of further violence.
Turkish drone strikes in the region have intensified since the signing of a security agreement between Turkey and Iraq on 15 August. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of nine civilians including several in Iraqi Kurdistan.
