A Turkish drone strike on Makhmour refugee camp, northern Iraq, injured three woman, all members of the Peace Mothers movement. Tuesday’s bombardment ignited widespread protests within the camp – home to thousands of Kurdish refugees who fled southeast Turkey in the 1990s – and calls for international intervention to halt the repeated Turkish attacks.
The victims, peace advocates Gulê Ozek, Edîbe Paksoy and Ezime Kabul, were sitting outside a civilian residence when the drone fired at the property, damaging the building and seriously injuring the women in the explosion. All three were rushed to a local hospital, where one remains in critical condition.
Established in 1994, the Makhmour camp was built by Kurdish refugees fleeing Turkey’s ‘scorched earth’ campaign, which saw villages destroyed and thousands killed. Since its creation, the camp has faced repeated attacks, with eight people killed and many others wounded in previous incidents. The most recent strike, the 13th to target the camp since 2019, adds to a growing list of casualties caused by Turkish military actions in the region.
In response to the 10 September attack, hundreds of Makhmour residents took to the streets to protest against the continued assaults on the camp. Protesters called on the Iraqi government to intervene and prevent further Turkish aggression on Iraqi soil. Despite the ongoing conflict, there has been no official response from Baghdad regarding the attack.
The strike coincided with the presence of a combined United Nations and Iraqi delegation, which had been working in the camp for 12 days to carry out identification and registration procedures, adding further concern about the security of the personnel involved amid increasing Turkish military activity. Since 15 August after a security agreement between Turkey and Iraq, Turkish drone strikes have intensified, leading to the deaths of nine civilians in northern Iraq, including Iraqi Kurdistan.
Residents remain on high alert, with Turkish drones reportedly continuing to circle above Makhmuur in the days following the attack. The escalating situation has led to further tension, as calls for international intervention and accountability grow louder.
