A Turkish air raid on the Maxmur refugee camp in Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) this week claimed the lives of three civilians. Three women from the camp were killed in a bombing carried out by armed drones while they were grazing their sheep. German Left Party (DIE LINKE) MEP Özlem Alev Demirel calls on NATO to act against its member state Turkey.

"The attacks by Turkish combat drones on the Maxmur refugee camp in Iraq constitute an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq in violation of international law. Obviously neither international law nor reason play a role for the Erdoğan’s government,” said Demirel.

"It is frightening that women are dying”

It is shocking that three women were killed in the latest attack, the left-wing politician said. "It was only on 7th April that the European Union extended its mission for the so-called 'security sector reform' in Iraq by two years. At the end of March, the mandate for the German army’s training measures for the Iraqi army in central Iraq was transferred to NATO," explained the left-wing politician. Nevertheless, NATO member Turkey is violating the sovereignty of the country of deployment of these EU and NATO missions. It is high time that the NATO countries finally call their member Turkey to order to refrain from such actions."

Not the first attack

The Maxmur Camp, founded in 1998, is home to around 12,000 people who were forced to leave their villages in Northern Kurdistan/Turkey in the 1990s due to repression by the Turkish state. The camp is officially under the protection and control of the UNHCR. However, since July 17, 2019, the inhabitants of Maxmur have been subject to a blockade by the security forces of the South Kurdistan’s ruling party KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) under pressure from Turkey.

This is not the first time the Maxmur Camp has been targeted by the Turkish army. The Turkish Air Force carried out raids on the camp on 6 December 2017, 13 December 2018 and 19 July 2019.

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