The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) have set up checkpoints 35km within the territory of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), stopping and interrogating local traffic while distributing leaflets thanking them for their cooperation. The protocol is a new departure for Turkish military in the region, which raises further questions about the extent to which they have been able to infringe upon Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish sovereignty to establish a de facto military occupation of the region.
The threat comes as local sources report that, in addition to deploying hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles around the Matina region in Duhok province, a high-ranking Turkish delegation is likely to visit Baghdad. In the past 10 days, Turkey has deployed 300 tanks and armoured vehicles to Iraqi Kurdistan. A new report by Voice of America (VOA) in which a reporter drives through a Turkish army checkpoint 35km deep within nominally Iraqi Kurdish territory will therefore add to concerns that Turkey is attempting to seize key strategic areas of Duhok under the guise of its military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
In his video report, Voice of America reporter Kawa Omer drives up to a checkpoint. He is stopped by soldiers speaking the Bahdini dialect of Kurdish, local to the Duhok region where much of the recent fighting has taken place. In a brief, polite exchange, the man at the checkpoint identifies himself as a Turkish soldier, requests Omer’s ID for a check, and directs him onward through the checkpoint.
In his report after passing through the checkpoint, Omer says: “Following the Turkish land operation which began three days ago at the Sarzari border crossing, Turkish soldiers penetrated more than 35 kilometres into the Kurdistan Region between the villages of Baze, Belizan, and Kani Belav, in the Berwari Bala region.”
He goes on to highlight the unique nature of this apparent infringement of Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish sovereignty, saying: “It’s the first time that Turkish soldiers have set up checkpoints on Kurdistan’s territory, questioned the people of Kurdistan, and hand them this type of leaflet, which says: ‘we thank those locals who back us in maintaining the region’s security.’”
The leaflet, which is displayed to the camera, is written in Sorani Kurdish, Badini Kurdish, and Turkish. It reads: “We ask your forgiveness since you lost time, and were stopped as you travelled. With your support, we will make the region safer. We thank you for your understanding, and hope for your support.”
It has elsewhere been reported that nearly 1,000 Turkish military personnel, along with their armoured vehicles, have been positioned in the region since 25 June. They have been inspecting citizens’ identity documents, frequently halting and preventing Kurdish citizens’ movement in the area, as demonstrated by the VoA report.
The apparently critical tone of Omer’s report is itself of note, since VOA, a US government-funded agency, has generally reported on the Turkish-PKK conflict from a Turkish perspective by repeating Turkish claims over the threat posed by the PKK.
