Stop besieging the Makhmour Camp

After the killing  of Osman Kosa, an employee at the Turkish consulate working at the Iran desk of Turkey’s national spy agency on 17th July 2019 in the Huqqabaz restaurant in Arbil.The security forces of Arbil are besieging the Makhmour Camp of refugees for more than a month now. 

This is an act against the civilian people and refugees who have to provide themselves with the basic needs of their lives in Arbil city. This inhuman endeavor has prevented the camp inhabitants from visiting hospitals, doctors and buying medications. They are suffering from health problems. Pregnant women need medical care, young children need to go to school. There has even been cases of pregnant women having miscarriages. And not to mention all the air raids of the Turkish air forces over the camp, killing people and shedding the blood of innocent civilians. The camp inhabitants are living in a constant state of fear. It must not be allowed to destroy the lives and the future of civilians with political rivalries, their lives as refugees should be secured. 

Most of the refugees in this camp are those people who fled and left their homes and fled to Iraq in 1991 to protect themselves from the oppressive, racist and fascist regime of Turkey. After some relocation since 1998 they have been settled at the foot of the Qarachux mountains, living in refugee camps. There are more than 12 thousand people, of whom many are women,children and elderly people. 

The IFIR branch of Kurdistan does not only condemn this besieging of Makhmour camp, but we see it also as an attack on human and refugee rights. The intention of the region‘s authorities does not comply with the international measures of refugee rights and is a sign of the PDK cooperative nature with the fascist regime of Turkey. 

The UNHCR has to break its silence and take responsibility for this humanitarian crisis and make the following steps:

1. an immediate ending of the besieging of the camp

2. The camp to be run directly by UNHCR

3. The protection of the lives of the camp inhabitants should be the responsibility of UNHCR

We also ask all the political parties, public organizations and all those who consider themselves as defenders of human and refugee rights to stand up and show protests in their own ways against this besieging. 

The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees-IFIR  will stay always in the front line of defending the refugee rights and will inform the workers unions, the national and International communities, political parties and organizations about this inhuman act. 

The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees -Kurdistan Branch

11/09/2019