Following recent reports about the Turkish army's intensified use of chemical weapons in Kurdistan, Kurdish organizations are calling for international action to stop the ongoing war crimes. The women's office Cenî (Kurdish Women's Office for Peace) based in Berlin has also issued a statement on the use of chemical weapons and other outlawed weapons against the Kurdish guerrillas. Cenî calls for no longer ignoring the crimes committed against the Kurdish people: "In this war against the Kurdish people, human values ​​are being trampled on and this must be stopped."

"Turkish military operation in Iraq violates international law"

Since 23 April 2021, recalls Cenî, the Turkish state has been conducting a military offensive against Kurdish guerrilla fighters and the civilian population in northern Iraq. This military operation in neighbouring Iraq is illegal under international law. The fascist regime, led by the AKP-MHP, commits war crimes, uses internationally banned bombs and chemical weapons, and carries out state terror against the Kurdish people, against all forces fighting for freedom, against innocent people, the civilian population.

Comparable to the massacre in Dersim

This operation is comparable to the massacre in Dersim in 1938, says Cenî adding that “according to the Press Office of the People's Defense Forces (HPG), the Turkish army used banned bombs and chemical weapons 2,467 times during the six-month war between April 14 and October 14, 2022. With these barbaric war crimes, 27 freedom guerrillas were cruelly murdered. Today the identities of 17 other freedom guerrillas were released. In addition to chemical gases of varying toxicity, the Turkish army has also been proven to use various types of banned bombs. The Turkish army uses tactical nuclear bombs extensively, destroying the tunnel system and causing poisoning in this area. Thermobaric bombs and phosphorus bombs with similar properties are also used.”

War crimes with NATO support

Cenî says that “the use of weapons by the Turkish state violates international law and the inhumane practices are classified as war crimes. Unfortunately, until now the relevant international institutions have turned a blind eye to this and probably continue to do so. The Turkish state, with the support of NATO, is committing inhumane crimes against the guerrilla forces who are exercising the right to self-defense within the framework of the legitimate, humanitarian and democratic rights of the Kurdish people.”