Reconnaissance drones and fighter jets circle above the Maxmur refugee camp in Southern Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. It is not yet known whether the planes belong to the international coalition against the IS or are of Turkish origin.

The Maxmur camp, located about 60 kilometers southwest of Hewlêr (Erbil), is regularly overflown by the Turkish air force. Most recently, intensive air activities were observed over the region on Sunday. The last attack on Maxmur took place in June. In April, three women were killed in the camp in an armed drone attack by the Turkish army.

Over 12,000 people in Maxmur under embargo

The Maxmur Camp, founded in 1998, is home to more than 12,000 people who were forced to leave their villages in Northern Kurdistan/Turkey in the 1990s due to repression by the Turkish state. However, the refugee camp, which is officially under UN protection, has been under an embargo since July 2019. The KDP-led government in Hewlêr had ordered the blockade against the camp with pressure from Turkey after the shooting of a Turkish secret service officer. In consideration of the pandemic threat, the embargo is particularly dangerous because it has a severe impact on both the water supply and the medical care of the refugee camp. The IS has also increased its presence in the region.