The Mahmur Camp, which the Iraqi Federated Kurdistan Regional Government has imposed an embargo since July 17, 2019, was once again attacked by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on April 15. Three women, who grazed their animals died as a result of the shelling of the TAF.

 

Neda Muhemed Ahmed, a member of the Mahmur Camp's Foreign Relations Committee, said that the attacks against the camp where 12 thousand people lived is connected with the embargo.

 

Ahmed who interpreted the TSK attack as a continuation of the policy of denial and destruction, said: "Turkey does not recognize the will of the Kurdish people and has a policy to destroy them.  Reminding that the inhabitants of the camp migrated from their villages that was burned by the state, Ahmed said: "There is nothing left Turkish state hadn't tried on the Kurds. They used all their institutions to break the will of the Kurdish people. They have only one goal and it is to destroy the will of the Kurds. These attacks are carried out when the Turkish state is politically blocked. It wants to break the will of the Kurdish people with these brutal attacks. Today, the attack on our camp is part of its policy.

 

Stating that Maxmur has a geostrategic importance, Ahmed said: "Because it has a central location. It had strategic value for ISIS and KDP too. That's why Maxmur is targeted. This is the fourth attack of Turkey against our camp. Turkey had unjustified grounds for all their attacks.

 

Stating that the last attack was during the 9 month long embargo, Ahmed pointed out that they lost connection with the outside world with the embargo, and said: "This embargo brought many hardships for our people. The last attack carried out while we were expecting an end to the embargo. 2 people lost their lives and one was wounded as a result of that attack. Even though we called the local governments officials to help get our wounded to the hospital, they did not respond. So that ciziten also lost her life. The attacks against Maxmur is connected to the embargo."

 

Noting that Mahmur Camp is administratively and geographically connected to the Iraqi Central Government, Ahmed stressed that the central government has a responsibility to ensure their security. Saying that the government is content with only making a press release against the last attack and that it is not "satisfactory", Ahmed said: "There have been 4 attacks so far. There was a bit of a reaction from the government in the last attack. But that does not satisfy us. The Minister of Foreign Affairs needs to express his attitudes more clearly and sharply. The Iraqi State needs to take a clear stance against the attacks. We demand this from both the international powers and the Iraqi Central Government.”

 

Noting that their attempts on the issue were not answered, Ahmed pointed out that they had held 3 meetings with the local government about 2 months ago, saying, "No official statement has been made by the local government about the embargo so far. We have also been contacting the Iraqi Central Government. Until now, concrete steps have been taken.

 

MA / Ömer Akın