The Turkish state’s use of banned gas bombs to choke the guerrilla forces in the Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) has been documented.

The documented gas bombs include a type with the inscription “Gas Grenade” which was produced in May, 2014.

During the course of its military campaign launched in the Medya Defense Zones on 14 April 2022, the Turkish state has resorted to intense use of chemical weapons and internationally outlawed bombs.

According to the eight-month balance sheet published by the HPG (People’s Defense Forces) on 15 December, covering the period from 14 April to 14 December, the Turkish army committed war crimes of unprecedented cruelty without hesitation by attacking the war tunnels and positions of guerrilla forces 3152 times with internationally outlawed bombs (phosphorus bombs, thermobaric bombs, tactical nuclear weapons) and chemical weapons in the past eight months of war.

The gas bombs used by the Turkish state very often are among the weapons banned by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (also known as the Chemical Weapons Convention). 193 countries, including Turkey, have signed the convention, which opened for signature in Paris on 13 January 1993 and entered into force on 29 April 1997.

The Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which closes its eyes to the Turkish employment of chemical weapons, also states on its website that, “Riot control agents, such as tear gas, are considered chemical weapons if used as a method of warfare.”