Law experts are protesting the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s silence in the face of the aerial attacks by Turkey and Iran on the Kurdistan region for years, and stating that the attacks are completely outside of the law.

Sulaymaniyah University Law Department Chairperson Dr. Şoreş Hesen stated that the Iraqi state needs to defend its territory against attacks and that Iraq has both national and international rights in the face of the attacks. Şoreş Hesen said: “There are strong states and weak states in the world. That is why the United Nations exists. If the Iraqi government can’t stand against Turkey and Iran, they should take the attacks on their territory to the UN. They can press charges in international courts for the attacks on their territory. The Kurdistan Regional Government can also take the matter to the UN through Iraq, even though they can’t do it on their own.”

Kurdistan Region Islamic Union Party MP Ebûbekir Helednî stated that the Turkish and Iranian states attack everywhere Kurds live and want to disrupt the peace Kurds have: “Turkish and Iranian states use our borders as they like and attack our frontier territory. There can be no excuse for these attacks.”

Ebûbekir Helednî said the Iraqi government should also speak up against these attacks and added: “The Kurdistan region is under attack, civilians lose their lives. But the Iraqi government just watches. The Iraqi government should speak up against these attacks. Iraq is a sovereign state. But Iraq stays silent against the bombing of Kurdistan because Iran, Iraq and Turkey have made a deal among themselves. The purpose of these attacks is to intimidate and silence the Kurdish people.”